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work cited
"caesura". Encyclopedia Britannica.
Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., 2015. Web. 07 Jan. 2015
Pickeral, Ally. "Caesura Literary Term."
Scribd.Scribd Inc., 8 Jan. 2012. Web. 07 Jan. 2015.
Vineski, Patricia. "Caesura in Poetry: Definition.
Examples & Quiz." Education Portal. Education Portal, n.d. Web. 05 Jan. 2015.
What is caesura?
Basically, caesura is a pause.
- It is a natural pause taken while reading poetry.
- symbolized by //
- Even though a caesura is taken naturally, it can be strategically placed when writing poetry.
- Pauses taken at the very end of a line are not considered caesurae.
the most common
1) medial caesura (hint: it appears in the middle of a line)
other types
For example: the children's rhyme "Sing a Song of Sixpence"
'Sing a song of sixpence, || a pocket full of rye.
Four and twenty blackbirds, || baked in a pie.
When the pie was opened, || the birds began to sing;
Wasn't that a dainty dish, || to set before the king?' (Vineski)
2) initial caesura (near the beginning of a line)
3) terminal caesura (near the end of a line)
Caesura
Hamlet
"To be,// or not to be, //that is the question:
Whether 'tis Nobler in the mind to suffer
The Slings and Arrows of outrageous Fortune,
Or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them:// to die, //to sleep
No more;// and by a sleep, //to say we end
The heart-ache, and the thousand Natural shocks
That Flesh is heir to?// 'Tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished.// To die to sleep,
To sleep, //perchance to Dream; //Ay, there's the rub,
For in that sleep of death, //what dreams may come,"
(medial caesura)
the pause
Example: The Canterbury Tales
Example: Macbeth
“but how of Cawdor? // The Thane of Cawdor lives.”
Wait, there's more
need help remembering?
1. Caesura looks an awful lot like Caesar. Every time i think of caesura I think of how Caesar said, "Et tu, Brute?", paused (just like a caesura), and died.
2. Personally, I love salad. However, I hate tomatoes. Therefore, before every time I eat a caesar salad, I have to PAUSE to make sure all the tomatoes are left out.
Eleanor Carre