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On Jan 14, 2008, at 12:21 PM, Susanne Woods wrote: > If you believe that spondees and pyrhhic feet (which are > quantitative ideas) are valid in English (which is a stress-accent > language), then you would have a point. The thing about English is > that there is relative accent between any two or among any three > syllables, so that the distinction between the abstract pattern of > iambic stress (the stress differential between pairs of syllables) > and normal phrasal speech rhythms across a phrase or line, creates > interesting tensions among various possible spoken emphases--this > is what Stephen and I have been referring to. Bibliography on > request, though I try to summarize the principles and debate in the > first chapter of my 1985 book, _Natural Emphasis_. If there is new > information, though, I'm always willing to learn. You have totally misread what I wrote. As a Classicist, I am quite familiar with quantitative meters. I wasn't referring to them, as a simple inspection of the scansion I provided should show. You also appear not to know Derek Attridge's or Reuven Tsur's work. Derek's two-line system of scansion gives one a graphic representation of the abstract meter and the possible performance variations. The relative accents we place on syllables under the constraints of meter are a result of performance decisions. Please listen to the two recordings. I suspect we are saying nearly the same thing, based on what you wrote above, but you seem not to recognize that patterns like / x x /, x x / /, / / x x, / / /, x x x and a number of others really exist in English accentual-syllabic verse. The same patterns can be found in German metered poetry. I recommend you read Peter Grove's article on the foundation of English meter now available on the Versification web page: http://www.arsversificandi.net/current/groves.html Steven J. Willett [log in to unmask] [log in to unmask] [log in to unmask] US phone/fax: (503) 390-1070 Japan phone: (053) 475-4714