The Rhyming & the Styling of

Shakespeare’s

A Midsummer Night’s Dream

The 3 Writing Styles of MSND

-Iambic Pentameter, -Rhymed Verse, -Catalectic Trochaic Tetrameter

Iambic Pentameter

• is a kind of rhythmic pattern that consist of:

- five “iambs” per line (iamb-unaccented syllable followed by an accented one).

- It's the most common rhythm in English poetry and sounds like five heartbeats:

- “Penta" means "five," - “meter" refers to a regular rhythmic pattern.

Iambic Pentameter

• It's the most common rhythm in English poetry and sounds like five heartbeats:

da DUM, da DUM, da DUM, da DUM, da DUM.

• Here's an example from Theseus's speech to Hippolyta:

hippOLyTA, i WOO'D thee WITH my SWORD, and WON thy LOVE, doING thee INjurIES;

Rhymed Verse

• Passionate youth of MSND rhyme their words (Hermia’s)

Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind; (A rhyme)And therefore is wing'd Cupid painted blind: (A rhyme)Nor hath Love's mind of any judgment taste; (B rhyme)Wings and no eyes figure unheedy haste: (B rhyme)And therefore is Love said to be a child, (C rhyme)Because in choice he is so oft beguiled. (C rhyme)

Catalectic Trochaic Tetrameter

• Used by fairies & also witches in Macbeth

• A "trochee" is the opposite of an "iamb." • It's an accented syllable followed by an

unaccented syllable that sounds like DUM-da. • "Tetra" means "four" and "meter" refers to a

regular rhythmic pattern. So "trochaic tetrameter" is a kind of rhythmic pattern that consist of four trochees per line

Catalectic Trochaic Tetrameter

• It sounds like this: DUM-da, DUM-da, DUM-da, DUM-da. Here's an example where Puck addresses Oberon:CAPtain OF our FAIry BAND,HELeNA is HERE at HAND;