With Donne's "Go and Catch and Falling Star," and now Gay's poem, I'm noticing for perhaps the first time the interesting play of 7-syllable and 8-syllable tetrameter lines in these songs; I'm guessing it's a feature of songs in general. The effect is subtle--though in Donne's poem the extra syllable is more noticeable, since it's an unaccented syllable at line's end ("Teach me to hear mermaids singing / Or to keep off envy's stinging').
7: Gò and càtch a fàlling stàr — trochaic with missing last unstressed syllable (catalexis)
8: Tèll me nòt in mòurnful nùmbers — full trochaic
8: And ìn my àrms embràc’d my làss — trochic with catalexis but extra opening syllable (anacrusis)
9: Oh! whàt’s the màtter? whàt’s the màtter? — trochic with both anacrusis and full trochee ending
Songs can accommodate anacrusis of two (or even more) syllables, while the trochaic meter can accept dactylic (BAM-ba-ba) substitutions that would add syllables to the line. WIthout context from other lines in the poem, some of these variations can be hard to differentiate from iambic.
(Examples from Donne, Longfellow, Gay, Wordsworth)
Similar exaggerated love protestations as R Burns Red Red Rose. (Also written as a song )
With Donne's "Go and Catch and Falling Star," and now Gay's poem, I'm noticing for perhaps the first time the interesting play of 7-syllable and 8-syllable tetrameter lines in these songs; I'm guessing it's a feature of songs in general. The effect is subtle--though in Donne's poem the extra syllable is more noticeable, since it's an unaccented syllable at line's end ("Teach me to hear mermaids singing / Or to keep off envy's stinging').
Trochaic Tetrameter syllable-count possibilities:
7: Gò and càtch a fàlling stàr — trochaic with missing last unstressed syllable (catalexis)
8: Tèll me nòt in mòurnful nùmbers — full trochaic
8: And ìn my àrms embràc’d my làss — trochic with catalexis but extra opening syllable (anacrusis)
9: Oh! whàt’s the màtter? whàt’s the màtter? — trochic with both anacrusis and full trochee ending
Songs can accommodate anacrusis of two (or even more) syllables, while the trochaic meter can accept dactylic (BAM-ba-ba) substitutions that would add syllables to the line. WIthout context from other lines in the poem, some of these variations can be hard to differentiate from iambic.
(Examples from Donne, Longfellow, Gay, Wordsworth)
Thank you!