The Wave in the Mind: Talks and Essays on the Writer, the Reader, and the Imagination by Ursula K. Le Guin Page B
Authors: Ursula K. Le Guin
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I dithered endlessly over the Austen, finding it as hard to chop into bits as a river flowing. Every time I look at it again I mark it differently. This scansion by bars is an even more subjective matter than stress-scansion, and you may find it quite useless. To me it serves to show visually some elements of the rhythmic structure of the prose—the triple patterning of the folktale, and sometimes a hint of metricality, the “bar” becoming a “foot.” Also it shows visibly whether the passage uses mostly short, discrete phrases, or longer, more fluid ones, or a mixture and variety.
The passages are of one hundred syllables to the dagger (anything past the dagger is not counted). I wanted the samples to be of the same length so I could count and compare various elements.
“The Three Bears” (folktale, oral tradition)
Once up on a time | there were three bears : | a great, big Pa pa Bear ; | a mid dle-sized Ma ma Bear ; | and a lit tle ti ny wee Ba by Bear . || The Three Bears lived in the for est, | and in their house there was : | a great, big bed for Pa pa Bear ; | a mid dle-sized bed for Ma ma Bear ; | and a lit tle ti ny wee bed for the Ba by Bear .|| And at the ta ble | there was a great, big chair for Pa pa Bear, | and a mid dle-sized chair for M ama † Bear |. . . .
Sentences: 3
Bars: 13
Words: 79
Words of one syllable: 61
of two syllables: 15
of three syllables: 3 (counting “middle-sized” as one word; if it is counted as two words there are no words of more than two syllables)
There are two series of 3 unstressed syllables, one broken by a bar line (a comma).
There are four series of 3 stressed syllables. (These TUM TUM TUMs are mostly connected with ponderous Papa Bear, while Mama and Baby Bear get a lighter beat.)
Stresses: 49
Mark Twain: “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”
Well , || thish -yer Smi ley | had rat -tarriers, | and chick en cocks, | and tom cats, | and all them kind of things , | till you could n’t rest ; || and you could n’t fetch no thing for him to bet on | but he’d match you. || He ketched a frog one day , | and took him home , | and said he calc ’lated to ed ucate him; || and so he nev er done no thing for three months | but set in his back yard | and learn that frog to jump . || And you bet you | he did learn him, | too . || He’d give him a lit †tle punch . . .
Sentences: 4
Bars: 19
Words: 85.5
Words of one syllable: 72
of two syllables: 11 (10.5)
of three syllables: 3 (I count “rat-tarriers” as one word; “thish-yer” and “couldn’t” are each two one-syllable words conventionally combined in spelling, or unconventionally in the case of “thish-yer,” so that the ratio of monosyllables could go even higher. “Calc’lated” is a four-syllable word cut down to three.)
There are three series of 3 unstressed syllables, but each series is divided by a bar line (comma or period), so mumbling is neatly avoided.
There is one series of 3 stressed syllables.
Stresses: 44
J. R. R. Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings
They now mount ed their po nies | and rode off si lently in to the eve ning. || Dark ness came down quick ly, | as they plod ded slow ly down hill and up a gain , | un til at last they saw lights | twink ling some dis tance a head . ||
Be fore them rose Bree hill | bar ring the way , || a dark mass | against mis ty stars ; | and un der its west ern flank | nest led a large vil lage. || Towards it they now hur ried, | de sir ing on ly to find a fire , | and a door be†tween them and the night.
Sentences: 4 plus a paragraph break
Bars: 15
Words: 72
Words of one syllable: 45
of two syllables: 24
of three syllables: 2 (“towards” in Tolkien’s English is one syllable, but “evening,” which I count as two, might be three)
The single series of 3 unstressed syllables is divided by a bar line (comma).
I mark one series of 3 stresses, “ came down quick ly,” which might be
The passages are of one hundred syllables to the dagger (anything past the dagger is not counted). I wanted the samples to be of the same length so I could count and compare various elements.
“The Three Bears” (folktale, oral tradition)
Once up on a time | there were three bears : | a great, big Pa pa Bear ; | a mid dle-sized Ma ma Bear ; | and a lit tle ti ny wee Ba by Bear . || The Three Bears lived in the for est, | and in their house there was : | a great, big bed for Pa pa Bear ; | a mid dle-sized bed for Ma ma Bear ; | and a lit tle ti ny wee bed for the Ba by Bear .|| And at the ta ble | there was a great, big chair for Pa pa Bear, | and a mid dle-sized chair for M ama † Bear |. . . .
Sentences: 3
Bars: 13
Words: 79
Words of one syllable: 61
of two syllables: 15
of three syllables: 3 (counting “middle-sized” as one word; if it is counted as two words there are no words of more than two syllables)
There are two series of 3 unstressed syllables, one broken by a bar line (a comma).
There are four series of 3 stressed syllables. (These TUM TUM TUMs are mostly connected with ponderous Papa Bear, while Mama and Baby Bear get a lighter beat.)
Stresses: 49
Mark Twain: “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”
Well , || thish -yer Smi ley | had rat -tarriers, | and chick en cocks, | and tom cats, | and all them kind of things , | till you could n’t rest ; || and you could n’t fetch no thing for him to bet on | but he’d match you. || He ketched a frog one day , | and took him home , | and said he calc ’lated to ed ucate him; || and so he nev er done no thing for three months | but set in his back yard | and learn that frog to jump . || And you bet you | he did learn him, | too . || He’d give him a lit †tle punch . . .
Sentences: 4
Bars: 19
Words: 85.5
Words of one syllable: 72
of two syllables: 11 (10.5)
of three syllables: 3 (I count “rat-tarriers” as one word; “thish-yer” and “couldn’t” are each two one-syllable words conventionally combined in spelling, or unconventionally in the case of “thish-yer,” so that the ratio of monosyllables could go even higher. “Calc’lated” is a four-syllable word cut down to three.)
There are three series of 3 unstressed syllables, but each series is divided by a bar line (comma or period), so mumbling is neatly avoided.
There is one series of 3 stressed syllables.
Stresses: 44
J. R. R. Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings
They now mount ed their po nies | and rode off si lently in to the eve ning. || Dark ness came down quick ly, | as they plod ded slow ly down hill and up a gain , | un til at last they saw lights | twink ling some dis tance a head . ||
Be fore them rose Bree hill | bar ring the way , || a dark mass | against mis ty stars ; | and un der its west ern flank | nest led a large vil lage. || Towards it they now hur ried, | de sir ing on ly to find a fire , | and a door be†tween them and the night.
Sentences: 4 plus a paragraph break
Bars: 15
Words: 72
Words of one syllable: 45
of two syllables: 24
of three syllables: 2 (“towards” in Tolkien’s English is one syllable, but “evening,” which I count as two, might be three)
The single series of 3 unstressed syllables is divided by a bar line (comma).
I mark one series of 3 stresses, “ came down quick ly,” which might be
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