Contents
• Part I, Getting Oriented
• Part II, The Lay of the Land
• Part III, Building Poetry from Phrases
• Part IV, Linking Half-Lines Together
• Part V, Rules for Alliteration
• Part VI, Rhythm: Lifts and Dips
• Part VII, What Makes a Strong Stress?
• Part VIII, Syllable Weight and Resolution
• Part IX, Secondary Stress; Strong and Weak Dips
• Part X, Alliterative Meters: Historical and Modern
• Part XI, Being like Beowulf: the Sievers Types
• Part XII, The Meter of Beowulf: Variants of the Five Types
• Part XIII, The Meter of Beowulf: A Framework
• Part XIV, A Prosodic Primer
• Part XV, Mimicking Old English Alliterative Verse
• Part XVI, Alliterative Meter versus Accentual Tetrameter
• Part XVII, Mimicking Middle English Alliterative Verse

Part I : Getting Oriented

So.

You found this site while surfing the net; you poked around a bit, and here you are.

Perhaps you are an accomplished (or aspiring) poet looking for pointers. Perhaps you just love poetry and want to learn. Perhaps you are just curious.

In any case:

Pull up your sleeves and get ready to dig deep: this is a tour through the nether reaches of the language. Or to mix metaphors: get out your wrenches. This guide is all about the nuts and bolts of poetry for those who like to tinker.

To be precise: this is a field guide to alliterative poetry. When you are done reading it you will have a much clearer idea what alliterative poetry is, how it compares to other types of poetry, how it was done long ago in such poems as Beowulf and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and (most important of all) how to write it yourself.

But why, you may ask, should I write poetry in some strange, unusual style? What is the benefit to me as a poet, or to those who read it?

That is the first topic I will cover.

Copyright ©2000, Paul Deane