The ministry of higher and secondary special education of the republic of uzbekistan

Unit 15. Intonational Peculiarities of Poetry 
The main peculiarities of poetry consist in the following; the poetic text is built on a 
regular repetition of similar and isochronous units-lines. The line is the main lexico-
grammatical and intonational unit of poetry. The line that contains more than six syllables 
is usually divided into two or more sense-groups.
Lines constitute a stanza, which is a higher unit of verse. 
1.
Poetry is characterized by a wide use of simple tones: slow Falling tones,
Rising tones and Levels. The Level Tone is often combined with the High
Level Scale. This pattern gives a somewhat soft character to the utterance.
2.
Falling and Rising Tones are usually preceded by descending or ascending
pitch movement.
3.
The following compound tones are most typical: Fall + Fall, Fall + Level,
Rise + Fall. 
4.
If the line is divided into two sense-groups, the second
is often lower in pitch
than the first.
5.
The line usually ends in a pause (if there is no enjambment). 
6.
The pitch range is rather narrow (within an octave). 
7.
Stress, especially in lyrical poems, is decentralized. 
8. The tempo is slow and often constant. 
It is common knowledge that a poetic piece permits a great variety of interpretations.
At least two types of interpretations can be distinguished: the so-called 
authorial
(the 
interpretation of the poet himself) and 
non-authorial
(belonging to anyone else). 
The poet usually emphasizes the rhythmic organization of the poem which is 
accompanied by a monotone. The author’s reading usually strikes us as a monotonous one. 
Strictly organized rhythm is the main means of emotional expression. 
Non-authorial interpretation consists in conveying the idea of the poem not only 
through rhythm but other means too / melody, stress, tempo /. 
Learners of English often find the reading of English poems difficult. Highly emotional 
poems seem to have no particular intonational characteristics. One may think that the 
interpretation of a poem depends entirely on the reader. But the reader is expected to 
express not only his own thoughts and emotions but those which are offered by the author. 
Besides the form itself limits the number of interpretations. 

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125 
E.g.
 
 
 
 
 
TWILIGHT 
 
 
 
 
(By George G. Byron) 
 
 
 
 
It 
'
is the 
ˏ
hour 
≀
when 
'
from the 
ˏ
boughs 
≀
 
 
 
 
The 
'
nightingale’s 
↑
high 
ˎ
note is 

heard; 
|
 
 
 
 
It 

is the 
ˊ
hour
≀
 when 
'
lovers’ 
ˏ
vows 
≀
 
 
 
 
―
Seem 
ˋ
sweet in 
'
every 
'
whisper’d 
ˎ
word; | 
 
 
 
And 
'
gentle 
ˎ
winds 
≀
 and 
'
waters 
ˎ
near, | 
 
 
 
'
Make 
ˎ
music 
≀
 to the 
'
lonely 
ˎ
ear. || 
 
 
 
―
Each 
↘
flower the 
↘
dews have
↑
lightly 
ˏ
wet, | 
 
 
 
And 
'
in the 
ˏ
sky 
≀
 the 
ˋ
stars are 
ˏ
met, 
|
 
 
 
 
And 
'
on the 
ˏ
wave 
≀
is 
'
deeper ˆ blue, | 
 
 
 
And 
ˏ
on the 
ˊ
leaf 
≀
 a 
↘
browner ˆ hue. || 
 
 
 
And 
'
in the 
ˏ
heaven 
≀
 that 
'
clear obs
ˏ
cure, | 
 
 
 
So 
'
softly 
ˏ
dark, 
≀
 and 
'
darkly 
ˏ
pure, | 
 
 
 
Which 
ˏ
follows 
≀
 the dec
'
line of 
ˎ
day, | 
 
 
 
As 
'
twilight 
ˎ
melts 
≀
 beneath the 
'
moon a
ˎ
way. ||