英语诗歌的格律

英语诗歌的格律
1．一首诗（a poem）往往包含有若干诗节（stanza或strophe），每节又分为若干行（line 或verse），每个诗行由若干音步（foot）组成，音步是由一定数目的重读音节（arsis或ictus）和非重读音节（thesis）按照一定规律排列而成。

音步的排列方式构成英诗的格律（meter 或 measure）。

2．依照每一音步中重读音节（扬）和非重读音节（抑）的排列方式，可以把音步分成不同种类，即格律。

常见的英语诗歌格律有四种。

a)抑扬格（Iambus; the Iambic Foot）：一个音步由一个非重读音节加上一个重读音节构成。

b)扬抑格（Trochee; the Trochaic Foot）：一个音步由一个重读音节加上一个非重读音节构成。

c)扬抑抑格（Dactyl）：一个音步由一个重读音节加上两个非重读音节构成。

d)抑抑扬格（Anapaest; the Anapaestic Foot）：一个音步由两个非重读音节加上一个重读音节构成。

不常见的几种格律。

e)抑扬抑格（Amphibrach; the Amphibrachy Foot）：一个音步由三个音节组成，其中第一、三个音节为非重读音节，第二个音节为重读音节。

f)扬扬格（Spondee）：一个音步由两个重读音节构成。

g)抑抑格（Pyrrhic）：一个音步由两个非重读音节构成。

3．音步也有完整和不完整之分。

诗行中每个音步的格律都相同，则为完整音步（actalectic foot）；如果诗行最末一个音步缺少一个音节，则为不完整音步（cactalectic）。

4．诗的各行音步数目不定，诗行按音步数量分为以下几种：
一音步（monometer）
二音步（dimeter）
三音步（trimeter）
四音步（tetrameter）
五音步（pentameter）
六音步（hexameter）
七音步（heptameter）
八音步（octameter）
超过八音步的诗行在英语诗歌中较为少见。

5．音步的数目与格律结合起来，又可进一步细分为许多小类，如抑扬格一音步（iambic monometer），扬抑格一音步（trochaic monometer），抑抑扬格三音步（anapaestic trimeter），扬抑格四音步（trochaic tetrameter），抑扬格五音步（iambic pentameter），扬抑格六音步（trochaic hexameter）等。

从音步数目上看，三音步、四音步和五音步最为常见，尤其是抑扬格五抑，如十四行诗体（sonnet）、英雄双行体（heroic couplet）、素体诗或无韵诗（blank verse）等均以抑扬格五音步的诗行写成。

Basic Elements for Poetic Appreciation
I. Prosodic system of poetry诗歌的音律系统
1. Meter / Rhythm
1). Meter / Rhythm is a regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of verse.
2). Foot (音步): the smallest unit of rhythm in a line of poem containing one stressed syllable and one or more unstressed syllables.
3). The following are several frequent metrical feet:
*Iambus(抑扬格): a metrical foot of two syllables, one short (or unstressed) and one long (or stressed).
*Trochee (扬抑格): a metrical foot of two syllables, one long (or stressed) and one short (or unstressed).
*Dactyl (扬抑抑格): a metrical foot of three syllables, one long (or stressed) followed by two short (or unstressed).
*Anapest (抑抑扬格): a metrical foot of three syllables, two short (or unstressed) followed by one long (or stressed)
4). types of meters
*Monometer(单音步诗) a line of poetry that has one metrical feet.
*Diameter (双音步诗) a line of poetry that has two metrical feet.
*Trimeter(三音步诗) a line of poetry that has three metrical feet.
*Tetrameter(四音步诗): a line of poetry that has four metrical feet.
*Pentameter(五音步诗): a line of poetry that has five metrical feet.
*Hexameter(六音步诗): a line of poetry that has six metrical feet.
*Heptameter(七音步诗): a line of poetry that has seven metrical feet.
*Octameter(八音步诗) a line of poetry that has eight metrical feet.
2. Rhyme
1). Rhyme is the repetition of sounds in two or more words that appear close to each other in a poem.
2). There are two types of rhyme:
a. Internal rhyme (行间韵): is rhyme that occurs within a line.
*Alliteration (头韵) is the repetition of initial consonant sounds
in two or more words in a line.
*Assonance (腹韵) is the repetition of vowel sounds in a line
ending with different consonant sound as in
* Consonance (假韵) is the repetition of similar consonant sounds, especially at the ends of words, as in lost and past or confess and dismiss.
b. End rhyme (尾韵): is rhyme that occurs at the ends of lines.
*Perfect rhyme (完全韵) is rhyme in which the final vowels (and consonant sounds) are identical, but with different initial consonant sounds, such as stay / play , fate / late.
*Imperfect rhyme (不完全韵) is rhyme in which only the final consonant sounds are identical, the rhymed vowels and even the consonants might be similar but not identical, e.g. groaned and ground.
* Eye rhyme (视韵)is rhyme in which words are spelled alike but not pronounced alike, such as wind/kind.
3). Rhyme scheme (韵式)
a. Rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhymes in a poem.
b. There are three basic rhyme schemes:
*Running rhyming scheme (连续韵): Two neighboring lines are rhymed. (aabb)
*Alternate rhyming scheme (交叉韵): Poems are rhymed every other line. (abab)
*Inclosing rhyming scheme (首尾韵): The first and the fourth lines are rhymed. (abba)
II. Semantic system of poetry 诗歌的意义系统
1. Image –the soul of the meaning of a poem
The best way to appreciate a poem is to understand the meaning that the images convey in the poem.
1). Image refers to the words that trigger our imagination to recall or to recombine memory of mental pictures.
2). types of images
a. According to our senses, images can be divided into the following types:
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