Poetry Hacks

Monosyllables

What is it? Using all (or mainly) one-syllable words.

What effect does it usually have? Lines that are monosyllabic often feel more straightforward, plain, stark or direct, since the diction will generally be simpler. What else should I look out for? Sometimes monosyllables can create a feeling of awkwardness. Pace is not usually affected by the number of syllables per word (since we run words together when reading), though monosyllables usually make lines look longer.

An example of how it works … ‘The Send -Of f’ by Wilfred Owen:

Their breasts were stuck all white with wreath and spray As men's are, dead

In this blunt two-line stanza, the poet describes local men marching off to war, unaware that certain death awaits nearly all of them. The monosyllables help create a cold tone, as well as conveying the simple, inescapable truth of the situation.

Another example … ‘Sonnet 43’ by William Shakespeare:

All days are nights to see till I see thee, And nights bright days when dreams do show thee me.

Here the poet equates the absence of the beloved with darkness, and dreams of the beloved's beauty with light. The repetition of 'days', 'nights', 'see' and 'thee' work together with monosyllabic diction to create an awkwardness that mimics the lover's confused mental state.

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