Iambic, End-rhymed Lines
This poem is a shorty, but it packs a pretty good metrical punch. It makes sense that form and meter are a big deal in this one since there's a reference to music right there in the title. Form and meter are, after all, a big part of what gives some poetry its musical qualities.
The first thing you probably noticed is that the end words rhyme in an AABBCCDD pattern. That pattern of rhyme is called the poem's rhyme scheme. These strong end rhymes not only give the poem a kind of musical feel associated with the way some song lyrics rhyme, it also makes the poem feel like a very cohesive unit. All the parts feel like they are working together. The poet William Carlos Williams said, "a poem is a small (or large) machine made of words" (source). Seems like he might be right.
Two by Two
The fact that the rhymes come in consecutive lines does something else. It subtly brings to mind the idea of pairs as we read. Pairs—as in couples. Get it?
In addition to those end rhymes, you might have also noticed that most of the lines have a similar kind of rhythm, a kind of daDUM daDUM daDUM feel. That pattern of an unstressed and stressed syllable is an iamb. You can really hear those iambs in line 7 if you read it aloud (don't be shy, Shmoop won't judge):
What slight essential things she hadto say
Hear it?
The lines alternate between five iambs (or feet) per long line and three in the short lines.
Shake It Up, Baby
Shmoop knows what you're thinking (or, perhaps, screaming at your computer screens): "Some of these lines don't sound very daDUM-y to me. What gives, Shmoop?" Okay. Good point. There are some places where Cornford varies from the iambic metrical pattern. Why does she do it, you ask? Well let's take a closer look. Here's line 2:
over his instrument
This metrical change from iambs to dactyls (DUMdada) makes the word over stand out. That stressed "O" hits our ears pretty hard because line 1 makes us anticipate an unstressed first syllable. Sneaky.
By doing this, Cornford really emphasizes the image of the player bending over the guitar, making it even clearer in our minds. This initial image (the guitarist bent over his guitar) is important. We need that first image to be crystal clear if we are going to picture the man leaning over the "loved" woman later in poem.
So, Cornford makes the line sound different to make it stand out. It's kind of like how when the rhythm changes in a song it really gets your attention. You can't keep dancing to it the same way you were dancing before the rhythm changed because you'd look like a fool. Unfortunately, Shmoop knows this is true from experience.
The Look of the Thing
One more thing: the way this single-stanza poem looks on the page mirrors the content. How? Shmoop is glad you asked.
The poem's first six lines follow a kind of back and forth pattern: a long line followed by a short line. The lines stay pretty iambic but there are some small variations. Things change in the last two lines. Lines 7 and 8 are both long and there is no metrical variation at all—things get super iambic.
The back and forth in lines 1-6 mirrors the back and forth, the flirtation, between the lovers. When the lines become the same length and metrically identical in the poem's final couplet, it foreshadows the coming together of the lovers.