If you pronounce “compact” as a trochee, the way many people do (try saying “compact car” otherwise), it’s easy to read Steele’s “Compact, black-capped, black breast puffed to the sun” as four trochees followed by an iamb. In fact, I think it sounds much better that way.
Agreed. The silent reader probably won’t even notice anyway. So all that effort deforming the lines to fit some imagined stress pattern is probably wasted. Maybe better to devote resources to something else, perhaps imagery or diction. If we remember anything at all about the Steele examples, it’s not the scansion, but that lizard gym bro (as Ken pointed out) and that index card.
Nice, Brad. I'm a fan of that push-up lizard!
Me too!
Drop and give me fourteen.
+1. +14!
If you pronounce “compact” as a trochee, the way many people do (try saying “compact car” otherwise), it’s easy to read Steele’s “Compact, black-capped, black breast puffed to the sun” as four trochees followed by an iamb. In fact, I think it sounds much better that way.
Interesting. Of course my real view is that it doesn’t matter whether they’re trochees or iambs, and we should abandon foot-based scansion entirely!
Agreed. The silent reader probably won’t even notice anyway. So all that effort deforming the lines to fit some imagined stress pattern is probably wasted. Maybe better to devote resources to something else, perhaps imagery or diction. If we remember anything at all about the Steele examples, it’s not the scansion, but that lizard gym bro (as Ken pointed out) and that index card.