Pound point out rather basic things, such as, the strophe exists so that you can repeat the same melody over and over. Imagine setting to music a text not in strophic form; it would have to be through-composed.
Even more basically, metrical poetry is designed to be sung. The most basic structural device is repetition. That is the basis of rhythm itself. The most important musical notation is this: ||: :||
1 comment:
On the other hand, most metrical poetry is also post-musical, in that the language has been sufficiently enriched that no one tune will fit all the verses. I recently reused a tune for two verses in a poem of Charlotte Mew, and couldn't remember when I had been able to do that last. (And even then I had to adjust the tune for one line.)
If there's a four-line tune behind Gray's Elegy, it's pretty abstract.
Post a Comment