1. Essential poetry terms
• In the English language multi-syllable words will
have emphasis put on one of the sounds more
than the other – this syllable is stressed.
• Think about your name or your surname: Is one
syllable stressed more than the other?
• A lot of traditional poetry followed a particular
rhythm: The copying of the human heartbeat –
da DUM, with the first syllable being unstressed
and the second syllable being stressed
• Try and come with a 10 syllable sentence that
follows this da-DUM pattern

2. Essential poetry terms
• Iambic pentameter – A line with 5 “heart beats” (da-DUM) or 10
syllables
• Iambic tetrameter – A line with four “heart beats” (da-DUM) or 8
syllables
• Metre – The rhythm of a line of poetry
• End-stopped – A line of poetry that finishes at the end of the line, with
some punctuation to give it closure
• Enjambment – A sentence or phrase running over from one line to the
next.
• This is often used to draw attention to a word that is placed at the start
of the next line
• “and I choose // Never to stoop.”  The word never is emphasised as if
the word is stressed by the speaker (The un-compromising Duke)
• Caesura – A stop or pause in the middle of the line, marked by
punctuation. This breaks up the natural rhythm of the line, fragmenting
the poem. Often used to highlight a premature ending – so these are
often used in war poetry – could this be relevant to My Last Duchess?

3. Iambic Pentameter (“Da DUM” x 5)
• Examples of iambic pentameter –
try and hear the stresses? Which
syllable does the stress fall on?
• “But soft what light through yonder
window breaks”
• “If music be the food of love, play
on”
• “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s
day?”

4. Structure in My Last Duchess
• My last Duchess is written in rhymed iambic
pentameter (10 syllables in a line) with every
other syllable being stressed in a “da DUM”
pattern eg. “There’s MY last DUCHess
HANGing ON the WALL”
• This gives a natural and conversational feel to
the poem – to show us that the Duke is having
a calm and relaxed conversation: All the more
chilling considering what he is talking about!!

5. Structure in My Last Duchess
• The rhymed couplets keep tying the
Duke’s speech into tidy packages, even
though his thoughts and sentences are
untidy.
• Why might it be more appropriate for the
control-freak Duke to speak in harsh,
structured, rhymed lines than in
unrhymed ones?

6. Structure in Porphyria’s Lover
• The meter in Porphyria’s Lover is fairly regular
iambic tetrameter.
• Tetra=four – four iambs per line (8 syllables)
• da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM
• First four lines – the stresses are even.
• The rain set ear-ly in to-night,
The sul-len wind was soon a-wake,
It tore the elm-tops down for spite,
And did bits worst to vex the lake:

7. Structure in Porphyria’s Lover
• But the evenness goes out of the window
with the next line
• I list-ened with heart fit to break.
• This line stands out: It has two
unstressed syllables in a row, followed by
two stressed ones in a row. This is
intentional – The regularity of the meter
breaks, just like the speaker’s heart!

8. Structure in Porphyria’s Lover
• Figuring out the rhyme in PL
• ABABB CDCDD EFEFF – The rhyme is
regular but it is asymmetrical – the
second rhyming sound always occurs
more often.
• Some critics argue that the unbalanced
rhyme scheme reflects the speaker’s
unbalanced mind!