The case for pace

In this essay, the category of pace is suggested as one way to focus attention on the ever-elusive concept of rhythm. Pace involves the language of the poem causing or cueing the reader to accelerate or decelerate, though it need not manifest in an actual alteration of performance. Pace is shown to operate in both metrical and nonmetrical verse. Various pacing devices are briefly discussed, including punctuation, stress and consonantal clashes, lineation, syntax, and semantics.