Summarize the following:
Start by reading each line of the poem aloud to yourself. Listen to each word and how each word flows into another. Pay attention to where the words sound the most stressed and the least stressed. Often, you will open your mouth wider for stressed sounds and make your mouth smaller for less stressed sounds. You can also try putting your hand under your chin while you read the poem. Notice when your chin drops into your hand and when it does not touch your hand. Stressed sounds usually cause your chin to drop into your hand. " A wand symbol looks like this: /. It is used when part of a word or an entire word contains stronger syllables. You should notice that the word or part of the word sounds louder when you read it aloud. Use your ear and listen carefully to find the stronger syllables in each word. For example, in the line, "My girlfriend hit me in the head," you would use a "/" over "girl," "hit," and "head." These are the stronger syllables in the line. Keep in mind one word can have a stronger syllable and a weaker syllable. For example, "girlfriend," has a stronger syllable in "girl" and a weaker syllable in '"friend." " A cup symbol looks like this: u. Place "u" over any syllables that are not as loud as others when you say them aloud. They will be the less stressed or weaker syllables in the words of the poem. Usually any words that are not marked stronger syllables can be marked weaker syllables. For example, in the line, "This sunlight shames November where he grieves," you would place a "u" over "This," the "light" in "sunlight," the "No" and "ber" in "November," and "he." These are the weaker syllables in the line. Remember that you can have a stronger syllable and a weaker syllable in the same word. For example, "November" has a stronger syllable in "vem" and weaker syllables in "No" and "ber." The reverse wand symbol looks like this: \. It is used rarely when scanning a poem for syllables that are hard to identify and appear only partly stressed. It is often used when there is a disagreement as to whether a word is stressed or not. For example, you may have a hard-to-scan line like, "Full of passionate intensity, grappling and free." A word like "grappling" may be difficult for you to scan as it has three syllables that may sound only partly stressed.
Read the poem out loud line by line. Mark stronger syllables with a "wand. Identify weaker syllables with a "cup. Use a "reversed wand" for syllables that are only partly stressed.