ABPA - Australian Bush Poets Association

Robyn has mentioned that she does not know the names of the metre so I have set out here the names which are most useful to bush poetry.

Do we need to know them, aren't they just pretentious obscurantisms.? NO, not at all.
There is technical jargon in all sorts of areas. Chess players use odd names, golfers use jargon, horse competitors have technical terms. It's a common practice for any craft or art to have technical terms.
Why?
Some reasons. It helps to make efficient communication. Technical terms are a sort of shorthand, so we can discuss and understand issues without having to search for explanations. The golfer's caddy is not going to say, "you need to play a shot where you get an iron and hit the ball so it goes up high and avoids the sand traps, but doesn't go too far so that you land where you want on the green " He says, "Play a chip shot from here."

The chess player doesn't need to say " That piece of yours with the little cross crown thingy is surounded so that you cant' move without my pieces being in a position to take" he just uses a technical term "Checkmate !


Technical terms make clear definitions. Each use of a technical term should make it very clear what is being referred to.

A painter may know very well that grass to be depicted in his picture is to be green, but it helps the painter match the right colour to the right effect if he knows that the technical term for the green that he needs is " Viridian Green " which is different from " Terra Verte green "


So. The one's most useful metric terms for bush poetry are not at all hard to learn.

IAMB. ( As Stephen Fry says, rhymes with Popeye's I Yam )
Iambic metre has the beat or rhythm as ...de DA de DA de DA de Da de DA.
I YAM I YAM I YAM.

TROCHEE. Rhymes with chokey.
Trochaic metre has the rhythm or beat as.. DA de DA de DA de DA de DA.
chokey, chokey, chokey, chokey.

ANAPEST. Rhymes with To the west
Anapestic metre has the rhythm or beat as... de de DA de de DA de de DA de de DA.
to the WEST to the WEST to the WEST to the WEST.


There are others but these are the basics and I think that the others are mainly just combinations of those three.
So to get started you only have to learn three terms. That's not too difficult to remember or understand surely.

And my parting shot is one of my favourite quotes . In the movie Dead Poet's Society, Robin Williams as the English teacher tells his class " We are not laying pipe, we are doing poetry " Technical exactitude does not make the poetic ear, but technical knowledge equips the craftsman or woman. I urge our friends to acquaint themselves with the basic forms. It will give you confidence to make a start, and having some idea where you are going.

Thanks Neville,
I really appreciate you sharing your knowledge, and I can see that if you want to talk sensibly about metre, it makes sense to know the terms.
I know Iambic is common and I use it a lot, but I'm actually quite fond of Anapest.

Marty... I'm interested in your comment about particular metres suiting particular styles. Can you (or anyone else) elaborate?
ie which one suits which?

Cheers
Robyn

Good on you Marty. And I think you have made the important point, knowing the techn ical form gives you an idea where you might go. You don't have to start off wondering how you might structure your piece, but of course, some poems take on a life of their own it's not all cut and dried as they say.

Robyn , the feel of the poem depends not only on the metre but also on how many of what are called metric feet are in each line. It also depends on the words, some words slow down the pace, some speed it up. It's a long process of experience to work this out. I would suggest getting a book of bush poetry and seeing if you can analyse what each writer has done. If I try to get any more instructive at the moment I might confuse me and worse I might confuse others.
And I have to get ready to buzz off to Tamworth.

Writing Poetry by John Whitworth, And the Ode Less Travelled ..by Stephen Fry are very good. ( Stephen Fry has some very crude bits though, be warned )

Thanks Neville and Marty.
Enjoy Tamworth!
Robyn

G'day Robyn,

The different metres can effect the whole feel of the poem. If you were writing about a butterfly you would not wish to use the same metre as the one used to describe a horse race. Metre gives the beat (or pace) of the poem. The one Marty has used as his 'quote' is the 'de de DUM, de de DUM'. and really suited to an action poem as he has said.

If writing about nature, I would not use the same metre to describe a developing thunder storm as I would use for a peaceful sunset. There is a fourth 'common' metric style but I can't find the text books I need just now. I'm off to my poetry group. We meet at 7am so I'll look for it when I get home.

That's a good one Marty. I have that buried in one of my books somewhere. It is an excellent reference on this discussion.

Nope - sticking to Nevilles explanation I understood that