[Bards] Poetic Exercise #4

[Jay Rudin]

> But, er, this Iambic stuff has me molto confused.... Could you explain it to me? Anybody?

Iambic meter is really easy, and in fact, Ulf explained it so briefly that you missed it.

An iamb is a foot of an unaccented syllable followed by an accented one (ta-DUM)

An iambic line is several iambs in a row -- ta-DUM, ta-DUM, ta-DUM, ta-DUM

Ballad measure is all iambic lines, four feet, three feet, four feet, three feet.  Most songs in English are in ballad measure.

ta-DUM, ta-DUM, ta-DUM, ta-DUM
ta-DUM, ta-DUM, ta-DUM,
ta-DUM, ta-DUM, ta-DUM, ta-DUM
ta-DUM, ta-DUM, ta-DUM.

Example:
The Baron was a bardic man; 
He knew the ways of verse,
(I wrote this poem some years ago,
This second one is worse.

But Ulfie wanted humor, so
I had to make it daft.)
And with those verses on his knee,
The baron sat and laughed.

Robin of Gilwell / Jay Rudin
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