04-30-2016, 11:03 PM
I think I saw you asking for a "meter" website tool in a previous thread. Most of the time, tools like that will be fairly reliable, but not enough that you should rely on them. Different languages (slash dialects) have rules to pronunciation and meter, and these sites tend to pick the most common (or the developer's local) dialect. I spent two years scanning Latin poetry in school (which has simple and strict rules), but my English scanning stills lacks sometimes, as the rules are more fluid. I prefer to use a site called upodn, which is designed for pronunciation but also includes stress marking. You have to use some sense when there are discrepancies, however. Such as the difference between musical records (reh-kurds) and a person who records (rih-kords) music. Websites don't know the difference.
For a couple of general English rules:
Many one-syllable words can work as either stressed or unstressed. You have to judge some special cases.
- I don't recommend stressing "in"
- I don't recommend stressing "the"
- I don't recommend making "I" (pronoun) unstressed.
Compounds words usually take both stresses, though one might be more stressed. This is why there is some confusion around "midnight" here. Typically, mid is more stressed than night. I try to avoid them in metered writing, but to see how it can be used, consult some of Shakespeare's sonnets (a few may not work in modern English). Notice how any sense of meter fails around "breastmilk"
cor-RUPT is more natural in the dialect I speak -- I'm not sure of any dialect where it is the other way around.
For a couple of general English rules:
Many one-syllable words can work as either stressed or unstressed. You have to judge some special cases.
- I don't recommend stressing "in"
- I don't recommend stressing "the"
- I don't recommend making "I" (pronoun) unstressed.
Compounds words usually take both stresses, though one might be more stressed. This is why there is some confusion around "midnight" here. Typically, mid is more stressed than night. I try to avoid them in metered writing, but to see how it can be used, consult some of Shakespeare's sonnets (a few may not work in modern English). Notice how any sense of meter fails around "breastmilk"
cor-RUPT is more natural in the dialect I speak -- I'm not sure of any dialect where it is the other way around.
If you're the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room.
"Or, if a poet writes a poem, then immediately commits suicide (as any decent poet should)..." -- Erthona
"Or, if a poet writes a poem, then immediately commits suicide (as any decent poet should)..." -- Erthona