Iambs - Determining the Stresses

[Anonymous No.20546399]

Hey all, I'm having a really hard time determine which syllables are stressed when it comes to Iambic Pentameter. I was wondering if there were any resources that helped you. I mainly need to know how to determine which syllables are stressed and aren't.

[Anonymous No.20546484]

I feel very inadequate at the moment.

[Anonymous No.20546619]

Would it help if I added slurs to the post?

[Anonymous No.20546643]

>>20546399
It's all based on sound and context. So, if you were to have a line structured in iambic pentameter, usually the stress will come in a weak strong, weak strong pattern. You should be able to tell any variance in the structure by sounding it out loud.

[Anonymous No.20546646]

Literally the point of the iambic pentameter is that in most cases you don't have to determine which syllable is stressed, since the general structure of the metre already gives you that information. E.g. Shakespeare's later works are a bit less regular in that respect, but he is not a typical poet anyway.
By and large, poetry will sound correctly when you read it with natural, logical pronunciation. It's no philosophy. If you need any additional guidance, post an actual example that causes you problems.

[Anonymous No.20546677]

It's the longer sounding part of the word.

Compare = com-paaaare
Summers = suuuum-ers

I had trouble with it too. There's youtube videos about it that you can watch that give tips on it. Also just practice reading iambic pentameter while being mindful of the rules

[Anonymous No.20546698]

Almost everything Shakespeare ever wrote was written in iambic pentameter. Look up some actors reciting monologues or read some of his sonnets and just feel for the cadence. Sonnet 18 for example, begins:

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer’s lease hath all too short a date;

In the first line, "I," "-pare," "to," "sum-," and "day" are the stressed syllables. When you say the word "compare" out loud, you will naturally place heavier emphasis on the second syllable.

Similarly, "love-" is stressed in the second line, and when you say the word "lovely" out loud you naturally place emphasis on the first syllable. "LOVE-ly," not "love-LY"

It's subtle and you may have to place extra emphasis on the stressed syllables in a way that feels unnatural when you start, but once you get the hang of it it will get a lot easier.

[Anonymouṡ No.20547805]

>>20546399
Words have stress. Just listen to the word when you say it.

biscuit = BIScuit
today = toDAY

You don't say "bisCUIT" or "TO-day", do you?

[Anonymous No.20548472]

>>20546399
It's the longer sounding part of the word.

Compare = com-paaaare
Summers = suuuum-ers

I had trouble with it too. There's youtube videos about it that you can watch that give tips on it. Also just practice reading iambic pentameter while being mindful of the rules

[Anonymous No.20549171]

>>20546677
>>20548472
Aye mate, well done but you've just copied what I'd already posted

[Anonymous No.20549205]

>>20546399
de-TER-mine
SYL-la-bles (would be BLES in Iambic meter)
i-AM-bic
pen-TAM-e-ter (TER)

it just takes practice. if you look up a word on wiktionary, most will have their stressed syllables labelled somewhere