tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Mon Apr 08 06:20:37 1996

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Re: iambic pentameter



According to [email protected]:
> 
> >From Dr. Schoen's Hamlet Press Release:
> 
> "The end result: a translation complete with rhyming iambic pentameter, but
> in the original Klingon!"
> 
> Could someone please explain exactly what iambic pentameter is?  I tried
> looking it up in the dictionary, but that only led to a maze of other
> definitions I had to look up.  I've known this phrase for years, but I have
> yet to find out precicely what it means!  I understand only that it has to do
> with whether syllables are long or short, and how they're arranged.
> 
> SuStel
> Hovjaj 96265.2
 
Basically, it is text with the rhythmic sound of:

taDUM taDUM taDUM taDUM taDUM

Each line of verse has five pairs of syllables with the accent
on the second syllable of each pair. A spontaneous example
might be:

I once had thought that nature loved a toad.
It jumps, but then it splatters on the road.
A crow will peel this remnant from the ground,
Then swoop away, full-bellied, without sound.

I love poetry. {{:)> 'IHqu' qar'a'?

charghwI'
-- 

 \___
 o_/ \
 <\__,\
  ">   | Get a grip.
   `   |


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