Ulysses, iambic pentameter and enjambment.pdf
Ulysses, iambic pentameter and enjambment.pdf
Ulysses, iambic pentameter and enjambment.pdf
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Read through the poem. Underst<strong>and</strong> what he’s saying.<br />
° What does he mean in lines 19-21, 24-28, 54-56?<br />
How does <strong>Ulysses</strong> feel about<br />
± his current life, his past, his future<br />
± his people, his son, his mariners<br />
± experience <strong>and</strong> knowledge<br />
± his physical state, his impending death, danger<br />
After talking things over, on<br />
each of your two salmon<br />
slips note your name <strong>and</strong> a<br />
topic that you are confident<br />
about answering. Ex: Jane:<br />
how he feels about his son.<br />
What does he think the purpose of his life is or should be?<br />
How do you see him? What do you think of him <strong>and</strong> his<br />
attitudes?<br />
The poem is a dramatic monologue, spoken in a particular<br />
moment, in a particular place… What lines tell us exactly where<br />
<strong>Ulysses</strong> is <strong>and</strong> what is around him?
meter <strong>and</strong> <strong>enjambment</strong>
common variations<br />
In a foot, the stress/unstress pattern is<br />
reversed:<br />
Matched with | an a|ged wife, | I mete |<br />
<strong>and</strong> dole<br />
Une|qual laws | unto | a sav|age race.
common variations<br />
two stressed syllables in a foot (slows the line, can add<br />
emphasis):<br />
By this | still hearth |, among | these bar|ren crags
where are the stresses?<br />
I cannot rest from travel; I will drink<br />
Life to the lees. All times I have enjoyed
On your own<br />
1) Find a line of straightforward <strong>iambic</strong><br />
<strong>pentameter</strong><br />
° It lit|tle pro|fits that | an i|dle king<br />
2) Find a line that has a variation<br />
° One or more feet in which the stress/unstress<br />
pattern is reversed, or<br />
° One or more feet in which there are two stressed<br />
syllables<br />
± Does the variation have any effect?<br />
3) Write two lines of your own, one in straight<br />
<strong>iambic</strong> <strong>pentameter</strong>, one with a variation.
the <strong>enjambment</strong> continuum
End-stopped lines end with punctuation:<br />
Come live with me <strong>and</strong> be my love,<br />
Middle-ground (not a term) lines break at natural pauses<br />
And we will all the pleasures prove<br />
That valleys, groves…<br />
Enjambed lines do not break at natural pauses<br />
Thy cap, thy kirtle, <strong>and</strong> thy posies<br />
Soon break…<br />
Highly enjambed lines break up phrases awkwardly<br />
Genius is what they know you<br />
had after the third volume… (Marge Piercy)
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