Poetic devices 8: Rhythm and Tempo

If you're asked about tempo or rhythm in poetry it's likely you'll think about Rap. Appropriate really, because RAP stands for Rhythm And Poetry. Dig down into the history of Rap and you'll see it has its roots in the nightclub scene of 1970s New York City. MCs - or DJs - would talk rhythmically in between songs against a beat backdrop. From this, the idea of creating rhythmic spoken word came into being. 

Arguably, Rap goes back even further... and certainly there is a long history of the spoken word set to a beat. Listen for example to the political poetry of Gil Scott-Heron in the 60s, and try to tell me it didn't have an influence on Rap. 

Here's an example...it's from 1969 and it's called Whitey on the Moon

Rhythm in poetry is not limited to Rap, of course. In a previous post I argued that certain poetic devices can create a rhythm in a poem because of the sounds they produce, either when spoken out loud, or via internal self-vocalisation when reading the text. It's all about the beat, and the pace of the poem. For example, in the written word there are stressed syllables (long sounding) and unstressed syllables (short sounding). An iamb such as Today is a two syllable word where the first is unstressed (short) followed by the second stressed syllable (long): toDAY. 

Sonnets derive their rhythm from iambic pentameter (an iamb is a two syllable phrase) - words that are stressed and unstressed in pentameter - five beats or steps per line. Shakespeare knew how to do this:

[shall I] [comPARE] [thee TO] [a SUM][mer's DAY]

You get the idea how it works. Change the stress of the syllables - and the beat and pace of the poem changes. 

Have a go at creating different rhythms in your poetry by using different steps within your stanzas and lines. You can read up more about rhythm and metre in poetry at this link.

Steve Wheeler

Other posts in the Poetic Devices Series:

1. Simile

2. Metaphor

3. Repetition and refrains

4. Alliteration

5. Assonance

6. End Rhymes

7. Internal Rhymes

Urban poetry

What is urban poetry? Well, have you ever seen or watched a performance of poetry on the streets? I used to do this myself when I was younger. It takes some courage, but out on the streets you always have an audience of some kind. I would get on top of a wooden box with a microphone stand and perform my poetry to anyone who was walking by and who might be prepared to stop and listen for a while. Yep, I was a little bit more insane back then. I've seen others do similar. Urban poetry doesn't have to be outdoors. It can be anywhere. Some of the best urban poetry pops up unexpectedly and takes us all by surprise. 

Urban poetry is about being on the right side of history. It's about telling the truth in spoken word. It can be about down to earth subjects with which we can all identify, like love and loss, traffic jams, chip shop queues, losing your keys, self esteem, or simply... living in a city. More often than not, urban poetry is a protest about something - corrupt politicians, war, poverty, pollution, racism... you name it. If you want to speak out against something by writing and performing poetry, you can call it urban poetry. There's no room for flowery language in urban poetry. It's delivered in a no-compromise, earthy, gritty, street level rhythm and tempo with plenty of rhyme and some choice language too.

Classic urban poetry proponents include Manchester Poet Mike Garry performing Penny for the Guy in an outdoor market, or Gil Scott Heron with his classic The Revolution will not be Televised complete with a bass and drum accompaniment.

Look out also for excellent urban poets such as Harry Baker, the inimitable John Cooper Clark (here he is in 1980 with a poem about urban decay called Beasley Street) and Birmingham poet and playwright Benjamin Zephaniah (here with a 2009 performance of Dis Poetry)... all of whom have influenced my own writing and poetry performances and probably inspired me to write my 2020 collection Urban Voices. If you have poetry in you, and it is just screaming to get out, try the spoken word as well as the written word to get your message out there. You can do a lot worse than plunge into some poetry performances out on the street. 

Be an urban poet - and go make some waves. 

Steve Wheeler

Image copyright by Steve Wheeler 2023