Poetry Hacks

Present Participles

What is it? Using the '-ing' form of verbs (e.g. 'he is running' rather than 'he runs'). Also called the gerund . What effect does it usually have? The present participle makes actions seem more dramatic, urgent or energetic. What else should I look out for? Many feminine line endings and feminine rhymes are formed using present participles.

An example of how it works … ‘Dulce et Decorum E st’ by Wilfred Owen:

Gas! GAS! Quick, boys! — An ecstasy of fumbling Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time, But someone still was yelling out and stumbling And floundering like a man in fire

Here the drama of a gas attack is enhanced by the use of five present participles. The strong feminine rhyme on the words 'fumbling' and 'stumbling' emphasises these two words in particular, helping to deepen the pathos for this solder who dies horribly in front of us.

Another example … Don Juan , Canto II by Lord Byron:

Drinking Salt-water like a mountain Stream, Tearing, and grinning, howling, screeching, swearing, And, with Hyæna laughter, died despairing

The crazed behaviour of the sailors who resort to drinking sea water is emphasised by the string of present participles in the second line, rounded off with a grotesque image and a final present participle in the third.

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