It is simply difficult to do in a different way. However, having a classical meter and rhythm in a poem does not necessarily mean it’s better than a free-form verse. The more regular or classical the meter, the harder it is to write, and the more skill it takes from the author. It all depends on the effect the poet wants to achieve.
Any number of meters and any number of feet are possible in one line. Again, meter and feet, used here, have nothing to do with the measurement of distance. When these meter patterns are repeated in a line of verse, you get the “feet” of the line. So you could ask of any line in a verse, what meter are you? Are you an iamb? Or a trochee? Five basic meter patternsĮnglish poetry basically employs five patterns of varying stressed (/¯) and unstressed (x) syllables. So when counting syllables, you count more than single words – you count the entire interconnected phrase, as you would pronounce it, not as it is spelled. Call it the road markings of a poem.Ī line can be divided either into syllables formed by words or a caesura, a complete pause or break between words in a line of poetry. “Unstressed/stressed” syllables in the English language correspond to “short/long” syllables in classical languages. “Meter” is not the measurement of distance, but the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of verse. and non-American English) or “meter” in American English which I try to use throughout) is the metrical application of rhythm of a line of verse. I prefer “meter” to “metre” because “metre” is too close for me to the unit of distance. Since this foot repeats five times in a line, we can deduce that this poem is written in iambic pentameter.Back to main Elements of poetry page Meter These lines are composed of iambic feet since unstressed syllables are followed by stressed ones. Thou art | more love-| ly and | more tem-|per-ate: Shall I | com-pare | thee to | a sum | mer’s day? The type and number of feet will help you to find the meter of a poem. Find out the number of feet in each line. (e.g., iamb, trochee, spondee, etc.) Poets usually use the same pattern throughout the poem.ĥ. Identify the type of foot in a poem’s meter using the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line.
You can use the / symbol above stressed syllables and the X symbol above unstressed syllables.Ĥ. Identify stressed and unstressed syllables. Remember that a word can have more than one syllable and a syllable contains at least one vowel.ģ. Break words into syllables to identify the syllabic pattern.You can use a dash to separate the syllables in a word (e.g. Pay special attention to individual syllables.Ģ. Read the poem aloud so that you can hear the rhythm of the words.These rhythmic patterns of words will help you to identify the feet and meter. The meter can be classified into different types based on the number of feet in a poem.ġ. Poets use a repetition of these feet to build lines of verse. Īnapest is a combination of three syllables: the first two syllables are unstressed, and the last syllable is stressed.
ĭactyl is a combination of three syllables: the first syllable is stressed, and the other two are unstressed. Spondee consists of two stressed syllables. Trochee consists of one stressed syllable followed by one unstressed syllable. Iamb consists of one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. The meter of a poem is built according to these feet. There are five main common feet in English. The meter of a poem, in turn, will help you to identify the type or structure of a poem. You need to identify the number and type of syllables and their stress patterns in order to identify the meter of a poem. Foot/feet in poetic terms is a measuring unit it is a single group of syllables in a poem. It is determined by the number of feet in a line and its structure. Meter is a pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables within the lines of a poem.