Pronunciation and Intonation
When spoken by a native speaker, all English words with more than one syllable have more stress on one syllable than the others. The best way to learn where the stress should be is to hear a native-speaker saying it either in person or on tape. A good dictionary, especially one intended for second-language learners, should also give information on where to make the stress in a word.

A poet can arrange words so that the normal stress patterns of the words create the over-all rhythm he wants. He can do this even where there is no rhyme or alliteration.

This is important for you, as most African learners of English, in my experience, find it difficult to learn the normal stress-patterns of English words. Correct stresses in English poetry are as necessary as the tone patterns of most African languages. It is necessary therefore to hear English spoken by native speakers, on tape, video, or radio. Many poems can be heard on tape, if you look for them. Probably they must be ordered from England or America. What is needed is for primary school pupils beginning English to start with hearing native speakers on tape or video from the very first lesson.

Sentence stress patterns
As well as the stress patterns of the syllables in a word there is a pattern of stresses and intonation in a sentence. Short grammatical words like a, the, and, or, in, on, and so on are generally unstressed in speaking. If they are used in a poem they can make a pattern to separate other words which are stressed and can combine with multi-syllable words to create the rhythm of the line.

Example:
This is the night mail crossing the border

Look at the stress pattern of the line above. It is a repetition of: = . . = . = . = . . = . This is a sound similar to a train's wheels passing over the joints in the rail-track. In the poem as a whole, most of the two-syllable words are stressed on the first syllable; most of the three-syllable words are stressed on the second syllable. But where a change of rhythm is needed the poet has chosen words stressed differently. Dawn freshens, the climb is done, Down towards Glasgow she descends Towards the steam tugs yelping down the glade of cranes In these three lines the stress of towards is more nearly equal than in most of the two-syllable words, but slightly on the second, rather than on the first. Descends has the stress on the second. Thus these three lines create the impression of a train slowing down towards the end of its journey with the engine power almost turned off and the brakes applied. They do this by breaking up the steady rhythms of the lines which came before. This changes the way the listener feels as he hears the sound. A steady rhythm, if repeated too often, stops the mind concentrating on what is going on; a change in the sound makes the mind alert again and increases attention. By varying the rhythm the poet can keep the attention of the hearer, as well as illustrating the change of the motion of the train.

Sentence stress patterns
As well as the stress patterns of the syllables in a word there is a pattern of stresses and intonation in a sentence. Short grammatical words like a, the, and, or, in, on, and so on are generally unstressed in speaking. If they are used in a poem they can make a pattern to separate other words which are stressed and can combine with multi-syllable words to create the rhythm of the line.

Example:
This is the night mail crossing the border
Look at the stress pattern of the line above. It is a repetition of:
= . . = . = . = . . = .
This is a sound similar to a train's wheels passing over the joints in the rail-track.
In the poem as a whole, most of the two-syllable words are stressed on the first syllable; most of the three-syllable words are stressed on the second syllable. But where a change of rhythm is needed the poet has chosen words stressed differently.

Dawn freshens, the climb is done,
Down towards Glasgow she descends
Towards the steam tugs yelping down the glade of cranes
In these three lines the stress of towards is more nearly equal than in most of the two-syllable words, but slightly on the second, rather than on the first. Descends has the stress on the second. Thus these three lines create the impression of a train slowing down towards the end of its journey with the engine power almost turned off and the brakes applied. They do this by breaking up the steady rhythms of the lines which came before. This changes the way the listener feels as he hears the sound. A steady rhythm, if repeated too often, stops the mind concentrating on what is going on; a change in the sound makes the mind alert again and increases attention. By varying the rhythm the poet can keep the attention of the hearer, as well as illustrating the change of the motion of the train.

Tonal languages
Your language is probably tonal. (Most of the languages of Africa are tonal. Only Swahili and Arabic are not.) This means that the meaning of words is changed by the tone of the voice, and that poems and songs are patterns of tones rather than stresses, as in English. The poets of a tonal language can use the singing sounds of the words to make patterns in their poems. English poets cannot do this for individual words. They must use instead the stress and intonation of sentences. The tones in English sentences don't carry the basic meaning of the words; instead the tones are used to show feelings and attitudes. They can be employed in poetry, but only when read aloud. The tones don't show in the printed text. The reader must supply them as he reads.

A poem in a tonal language can be made in the form of a drum rhythm so that the drum carries the meaning of the words. It is what the early European travellers called the bush telegraph. This is something which is impossible in English.

Poets in an African language are able to use many tricks of language, some of which are not used in English. Any tricks are all right if they show the meaning. When you have understood English rhythms as used in poems you can compare them with poems written in your language. There is poetry in all languages.