a question about meter

[billy]

i get the idea that an iambic line need not have more than 3 iambic feet
and may also have a feminine ending using an extra half foot.
my question is this. is there a formula or can and should all lines vary

[milo]

i get the idea that an iambic line need not have more than 3 iambic feet
and may also have a feminine ending using an extra half foot.
my question is this. is there a formula or can and should all lines vary

clearly you mean iambic pentameter as iambic heptameter would always need more than 3 iambic feet. Here are some quick and dirty rules:

Rules for ip:

Lines should have 5 iambs and nothing else.

Exceptions:

there are some acceptable substituions in ip. Substitutions should be used to add emphasis or add to the reading. Substituions should NOT be used because the author cannot find an acceptable iamb.

acceptable sub:

1. Trochees can be substituted for any of the first 4 feet though earlier is better. 1 trochee/line

2. Double iambs (pyrrhic-trochee) should be used SPARINGLY.

3. Headless iambs can be used for first foot (9 syllable iambic line starting with a hard accent). NOT to be used in first line.

4. Fem endings.

5. Spondees can be used as a sub for any foot although shouldn't occur in the first line and no more than 1 per line. Also, shouldn't occur in line with a troche.

as you can see, the only line that has only 3 iambs has a double iamb sub and it is to be used sparingly (once per poem would be overkill)

3 beat feet should not be used without either a letter from the Pope or from Leanne (I would try the Pope first).


the only time it is acceptable to use 3 iambs in ip is with what is called a double iamb (pyrric/spondee)

they are not 100% and modernists have been trying to erode them for years, but in my book, if you are writing ip, you should follow the rules.

Let me touch on feminine endings real quick. Yes, if an iambic line has a feminine ending it /has/ to have eleven syllables, but we don't call it an extra half foot. In addition, any line rhyming with a fem ending should also be feminine (don't rhyme city with tragedy).

Why use feminine endings? there are a number of uses ranging from the caesura effect it causes, the flippancy it lends. Some authors actually use feminine endings when talking about feminine subjects (I have been guilty of this) but it doesn't necessarily lend meaning except to scansion experts.

[billy]

thanks for the speedy reply.

i put a pdf up here, but asked the question in the opening post because it wasn't that well covered.