hi Tink

Many relevant points made in that article. The emphasis on pattern in particular.

Quote

The word at the end of a poetic line should bear the weight of imaginative or musical scrutiny. The end word of a line is highly visible and audible. Never end lines on weak words unless there is a strong expressive necessity. The end words—rhymed or unrhymed—should generate energy for the poem.

I do feel, especially in the use of rhyme, that lines trot to an inevitable end line weight. The use of a trochee at the beginning of a line provides counter to that weight; a caesura also provides pivot balance; verbs and nouns placed at the line beginning provide dynamic. A pattern of weak words to begin lines can be as flawed as weak end line words in the overall effect.

Thanks for sharing

badge

Nice addition Badge Thanks.    

Yes beginning and end words in the line have extreme importance.  It always surprises me when modern poets end a line with "and".  I see it all of the time.  Your point of beginning with a trochee for balance makes total sense.  Beginning with a trochee always commands attention on the first syllable.  In To Read a Poem by Donald Hall, his first chapter is "Good Poems" and proceeds to explicate 3 poems, the first is Robert Frost's Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.  He spends a lot of time discussing word placement in the line and how important the beginning and end lines are.  Frost was a genius at it.

~~Tin

Cool find. These are all great points in the linked article. Each one of them could be discussed in great detail and supplemented with examples. So much work to be done ...

Tony