Scanning Your Poems (cont.)

Here was one problem:

I GO down the HALL for an EL baño BREAK

In Spanish, el baño has the emphasis on BAN, not on EL. Oops.

Also:

I HANG out and CHAT with mi aMIgo, CarLOS

The problem in this line is the emphasis on LOS. But Carlos is naturally pronounced CARlos, not CarLOS.

I would like to say I had problems because the words were Spanish. But that would be a lie.  I knew the proper pronunciation long before I scanned the poem.  I just conveniently ignored it and twisted the pronunciation to "work" within my meter!

I have to redo these lines so that the stresses fall where they would naturally. Maybe you'll need to do that, too, in your poems. But with a little help in scanning, at least you'll know which words and phrases to tackle!

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