A confession [this isn't a piece of fiction only an apercu]

[arrytus]

I have the terrible plight of being scansion deaf. I literally do not comprehend, despite my noblest efforts, accented and unaccented syllables. And it really really sucks that when I read Homer or someone brings up Holderlin as much as I love their poetry the metre goes by the wayside... I can get into the rhythm of iambic pentameter but asked to point out which morpheme is accented is a lost cause. I consider it like being colorblind or tone deaf, but perhaps there is a cure of which I am not aware and someone shall have the graciousness to share?

[jajdude]

I wouldn't worry about it.

[arrytus]

I wouldn't worry about it.

I'm not so blithe about it actually. It would be like trying to seriously study music composition while being unable to note the difference between legato and adagio etc. or not being able to read sheet music.

[themiddleprince]

Sight-reading is overrated in music.

But on the accents issue, I would suggest that just as some people who play beautifully only do so if they have the discipline of dots before them, I suspect you're seeing the rhythm - which is what the metre is after all - as a technical, discipline thing. Ever done a crazy hippy drama class where you stomp around a room reciting? If not you should, though you can do it alone in the privacy of your home. Physicalise the beat, get crazy with it.

Stop trying to hear it - it isn't there until you feel it.