In the study of poetry rhythm, called prosody, a "masculine ending" describes a line that ends with a syllable that is stressed, or pronounced with more force. A "feminine ending" is the opposite, describing a line that ends with a syllable that is unstressed, or pronounced with less force. These terms come from patterns in the French language. When lines with masculine endings rhyme with other masculine endings, they create masculine rhymes. Similarly, lines with feminine endings rhyme with other feminine endings to create feminine rhymes. Poems often use patterns of masculine and feminine endings in their structure. The difference between masculine and feminine endings is separate from the difference between types of rhythmic units in poetry, called metrical feet.

Description

In the study of poetry rhythm, a masculine ending means the line ends with a syllable that has strong emphasis. A feminine or weak ending means the line ends with a syllable that does not have strong emphasis.

Etymology

The terms "masculine ending" and "feminine ending" are not connected to ideas about being masculine or feminine in culture. Instead, they come from a grammar rule in French. In the past, French words that were classified as feminine usually ended with a syllable that had no stress, while words classified as masculine ended with a syllable that had stress. This was true in earlier times, such as when the masculine word "petit" (meaning "small") had stress on its final syllable, while the feminine form "petite" ended with a syllable that had no stress (a sound called a schwa, which is not usually pronounced today).

Example

Below are the first two stanzas of "A Psalm of Life" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. In each stanza, the first and third lines end with unstressed syllables, and the second and fourth lines end with stressed syllables.

Tell me not, in mournful numbers, Life is but an empty dream!— For the soul is dead that slumbers, And things are not what they seem. Life is real! Life is earnest! And the grave is not its goal; Dust thou art, to dust returnest, Was not spoken of the soul.

The unstressed syllables at the end of lines create feminine endings, such as -bers, again -bers, -nest, and again -nest. The stressed syllables at the end of lines create masculine endings, such as dream, seem, goal, and soul.

Rhyme

In English poetry, rhymes can be classified as masculine or feminine. A masculine rhyme occurs when words ending with a single, stressed syllable are rhymed, such as "dream" and "seem." Most rhymes in English poetry are masculine. For example, the poem "Lecture Upon the Shadow" by John Donne uses only masculine rhymes throughout.

A feminine rhyme happens when words ending with two syllables are rhymed, such as "rolling" and "trolling." Shakespeare’s "Sonnet 20" is a notable example, as all fourteen lines end with feminine rhymes. Here is an excerpt from the sonnet:

"A woman's face with nature's own hand painted,
Hast thou, the master mistress of my passion;
A woman's gentle heart, but not acquainted
With shifting change, as is false women's fashion…"

The unstressed syllables in feminine rhymes are often identical, like "rolling" and "trolling," but they can also differ, such as "expanding" and "stranding." Feminine rhymes are uncommon in English, a language with mostly single-syllable words. However, the suffix "-ing" adds an extra unstressed syllable, making feminine rhymes possible. For example, the words "rolling," "trolling," and "doting" in Shakespeare’s sonnet use the "-ing" ending.

Feminine rhymes are used for humor in certain poetic forms, such as the Hudibrastic and limericks. Irish poet Jonathan Swift also used many feminine rhymes in his work. In Edgar Allan Poe’s poem "The Raven," feminine rhymes appear as internal rhymes. For instance, "uttered" and "muttered" rhyme with "fluttered" within the same line.

In couplets and stanzas

Poems sometimes organize their lines using patterns of strong and weak endings. For example, in "A Psalm of Life," each pair of lines follows a pattern where a weak ending comes first, then a strong one. This same pattern is used in hymns labeled "87.87" in standard naming systems (for more about this system, see Meter (hymn)). An example is John Newton's "Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken."

Here is an example from German poetry, taken from Goethe's work:

Relation to verse feet

The difference between masculine and feminine endings is separate from the difference between iambic and trochaic feet. For example, the poems by Longfellow and Newton are written in trochaic tetrameter. Feminine endings occur in eight-syllable lines that end with a complete trochaic foot. Masculine endings occur in seven-syllable lines that end with a single-syllable foot. In contrast, the poem by Oliver Goldsmith is written in iambic tetrameter. Masculine endings occur in eight-syllable lines, while feminine endings occur in lines with an extra, ninth syllable.

In unrhymed verse, some lines end with two unstressed syllables but still have the same number of syllables as lines with clear masculine endings. For example, four lines from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, written in iambic pentameter:

HELENA: And even for that do I love you the more. I am your spaniel; and, Demetrius, The more you beat me, I will fawn on you. Use me but as your spaniel, spurn me, strike me,

The first line has ten syllables and ends with a stressed syllable (more), which is a clear masculine ending. The last line has eleven syllables and ends with an unstressed syllable (me), which is a clear feminine ending. The second and third lines each have ten syllables but end with two unstressed syllables (-tri-us, on you). These lines are structurally similar to masculine lines but do not end with a stressed syllable.

Tarlinskaja (2014) suggests that lines ending with two unstressed syllables, like "Demetrius" or "fawn on you," can still be classified as masculine endings. Her example is a line from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet: "To sunder his that was thine enemy." For Tarlinskaja, the tenth syllable in masculine endings can be either stressed or unstressed.

Another possibility is an eleven-syllable line ending with two unstressed syllables. These lines are very rare in actual poetry. Tarlinskaja states that the tenth syllable in feminine endings is always stressed.