How to appreciate an English poemThe poetic forms of English poetry are in a great variety. There are the heroic couplet, which includes a pair of rhymed lines in each stanza( which consists of four lines); the blank verse, which is unrhymed; and the sonnet, which includes 14 lines with a fixed rhyming scheme.一、英雄偶体诗Heroic Couplet refers to lines of iambic pentameter which rhyme in pairs: aa, bb, cc, and so on. The adjective “heroic” was applied in the later seventeenth century because of the frequent use of such couplets in heroic poems and dramas. This verse form was introduced into English poetry by Geoffrey Chaucer. From the age of John Dryden through that of Samuel Johnson, the heroic couplet was the predominant English measure for all the poetic kinds; some poets, including Alexander Pope, used it almost to the exclusion of other meters.英雄偶体诗的诗句采用抑扬格五音步，韵式为：aa,bb,cc......。
修饰语“英雄”使用于17世纪晚期，因为这种类型的偶体诗常用于史诗和英雄剧。
这种韵式最早被诗人乔叟引入英国，从德莱顿到萨缪尔，英雄偶体成为了英国诗歌韵式的主流，包括蒲柏在内的一些诗人几乎只用这一韵式。
O could I flow like thee, and make thy streamMy great example, as it is my theme!Though deep yet clear, though gentle yet not dull;Strong without rage, without o'erflowing full.二、注意meter（格律、节拍）和foot（音步）的区别The most common meter in English poetry, the so-called iambic pentameter, is a sequence of five iambic feet or iambs, each consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one ("da-DUM")An iambic foot is an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. The rhythm can be written as:A line of iambic pentameter is five iambic feet in a row:It's possible to notate this with a '˘'(Breve) mark representing an unstressed syllable and a '/'(Forward Slash) mark representing a stressed syllable. In this notation a line of iambic pentameter would look like this:The following line from John Keats' Ode to Autumn is a straightforward example: To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shellsThe scansion（节奏[韵律]分析）of this can be notated as follows:The divisions between feet are marked with a |, and the caesura (a pause) with a double vertical bar ||.˘/ ˘/ ˘/ ˘/ ˘/To swell | the gourd, || and plump | the ha- | zel shellsEg:A Red, Red Rose-----Robert BurnsO, my love is like a red, red roseThat's newly sprung in June.O, my love is like the melody,That's sweetly play’d in tune.As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,So deep in love am I,And I will love thee still, my dear,Till a’ the seas gang dry.Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear,And the rocks melt wi' the sun!And I will love thee still, my dearWhile the sands o' life shall run.And fare thee weel, my only Love!And fare thee weel, awhile!And I will come again, my love,Tho' it were ten thousand mile!Meaning:The beauty of my love can be compared with a red rose, and the sweet voice and shape of my love are like piece of soft music.My graceful girl, you are very beautiful and I love you very much; my dear, I will love you firmly until all the seas go dry. The speaker expresses his fiery passion for his love and swears to love her forever.My dear, I will love you till all the seas go dry and the rocks melt with the sun. I will love you firmly so long there is a life keeping time or I will love you until the end of my life.Farewell to you, my only dear love, farewell to you only for a short time! I will come back again even though it were ten thousand mile away, my dear!Theme: to express strong affection to his love, swearing that he will love her for ever.Structure:1.Stanza 1: compare his sweet heart as a red rose and sweet music.2. Stanza 2-3 : swear that he will love her for ever, and assure that he will never change his heart.3. Stanza 4: assure his lover that he will leave for a short time but will come back no matter how far it is.Form: Scottish Folklore, short lines, strong rhythm. The first and third lines have 8 syllables and the second and fourth lines have 6 syllable in the first two stanzas and 7 syllables in the second two stanzas.Rhyming: the first and second stanzas: abcb. The third and fourth: abab. Rhetorical features: simile is used to express the strong affection which can not be controlled. And repetition is use to intensify his emotion.三、十四行诗的韵式（rhyme scheme）及其他韵式介绍十四行诗，又译“商籁体”，为意大利文sonetto，英文Sonnet、法文sonnet的音译。
欧洲一种格律严谨的抒情体诗（lyric poetry）。
（一）意大利十四行诗（皮特拉克十四行诗）意大利十四行诗由Giacomo da Lentini（连蒂尼）创造。
皮特拉克（Petrarch）的创作使其臻于完美，又称“彼特拉克体”（Petrarchan Sonnet），后传到欧洲各国。