Question

What is the definition of caesura?

Answer 1

Hint: It is a poetic device used to bring dramatic pause to the piece of writing. Poetic devices are used to bring rhythm to the poetry and also add emphasis to certain parts of the poem. Some poetic devices are rhyme scheme, simile, alliteration personification, etc.

Complete answer:
A caesura occurs when a punctuation mark is used to divide one line of metrical poetry and create a dramatic or poetic pause or bring rhythm to the poetry. Sometimes, a caesura is also intended to give the reader a time to stop in the line and deeply consider its meaning.

Generally, a caesura occurs in the middle of a line, thus dividing it into two equal halves. It is called a medial caesura. It may also, at times, be used at the beginning or at the end of the sentence. They are called an initial and terminal caesura. Caesura is formed by the rhythms of natural speech, rather than by metrics (the rhythm of the poem).

For example,
 Sing a song of a tanner, a pocketful of rye.
 Twenty-four blackbirds, baked in a pie.
This piece of poetry is an example of medial caesura.

Note: Caesura can again be classified into two types;
i) Masculine Caesura – this type of caesura is followed by a stressed syllable (a part of a word or a syllable that is spoken with greater emphasis than other words).
ii) Feminine Caesura – this type of caesura is followed by an unstressed syllable (a part of a word or syllable which we say with less emphasis than the stressed syllable). This emphasis can be detected by the change in pitch of the speaker.