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Can the ear hear a thirteen-syllable line as consisting of thirteen syllables? I don't think so, but I think that a series of thirteen-syllable lines… - James Fenton
" "Can the ear hear a thirteen-syllable line as consisting of thirteen syllables? I don't think so, but I think that a series of thirteen-syllable lines (supposing that was the length chosen) would, after a while, begin to have a characteristic resemblance. For the most part, though, counting the syllables seems to be something that works, if it works, for the poet. It is a private method of organization.
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About James Fenton
James Martin Fenton (born 25 April 1949) is an English poet, journalist and literary critic. Like his mentor, W. H. Auden, he has been Professor of Poetry at Oxford.
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Alternative Names:
James M. Fenton
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James Martin Fenton
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Additional quotes by James Fenton
Among those today who believe that modern poetry must do without rhyme or metre, there is an assumption that the alternative to free verse is a crash course in villanelles, sestinas and other such fixed forms. But most...are rare in English poetry. Few poets have written a villanelle worth reading, or indeed regret not having done so.
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