Sri Aurobindo
Letters of Sri Aurobindo
SABCL 26
Fragment ID: 7952
Q: Is it not the case that, in this metre1, either one must keep a rather staccato movement, pausing with almost unbroken regularity at the end of each foot, or else risk the iambic pentameter approximation by the use of an easy and fluent movement, as in your very beautiful line, Mute the body aureate with light, that would seem least out of place if inserted amidst other iambic pentameters?
A: Possibly – though the line does not read to my ear very well as an iambic pentameter – the movement sounds then common and rather lame. It goes better as a trochaic rhythm. It is true that there is this dilemma and the whole skill will then be in avoiding the staccato effect, but that necessitates a very light movement.
1 Quantitative Trimeter.