Poetry what is meter

As you probably know, words in the English languages are composed of a set of stressed and unstressed syllables. The repeating unit here is one unstressed syllable and one stressed syllable. This type of metrical foot is called an iamb and there are five of them here.

This metrical foot is called a trochee and there are 8 of them in this line. But poems can also use metrical units of three syllables. The final common metrical foot is the opposite of an anapest: a dactyl, which is a 3-syllable unit that starts with a stress and ends with two unstressed syllables. The Greek poet Homer adopts this form in his great epic poems The Iliad and The Odyssey, and poems in English that adopt the dactylic form often allude to this legacy. Dactyls may seem rare, but rap artists have recently adopted this triplet form to great effect.

Drownin' in compliments, pool in the backyard that look like Metropolis I think I'm sellin' a million first week, man, I guess I'm an optimist Born in Toronto, but sometimes I feel like Atlanta adopted us. Because there are six dactyls in each line, the meter of this song is also dactylic hexameter.

Iamb, trochee, anapest, dactyl. The next step, of course, is to determine why that matters—how meter can be used not only to read a poem or song but also to interpret it. Struggling with distance learning? Our Teacher Editions can help. Meter Definition What is meter? Some additional key details about meter: The study and use of meter in poetry is known as "prosody.

Meter can be analyzed on the level of a whole poem, a stanza , a line, or even a single foot. The way meter is measured depends on the language in which a poem is written. Meter in English verse is accentual , meaning it is derived from the emphasis placed on certain syllables. How to Pronounce Meter Here's how to pronounce meter: mee -ter Types of Poetic Meter Meter is a combination of the type and number of feet it contains.

The most common feet found in metered poetry are: Iambs unstressed-stressed Trochees stressed-unstressed Spondees stressed-stressed Dactyls stressed-unstressed-unstressed Anapests unstressed-unstressed-stressed The most common number of feet found in lines of poetry are: Monometer one foot Dimeter two feet Trimeter three feet Tetrameter four feet Pentameter five feet Hexameter six feet The name of a meter is based on the foot it uses stated as an adjective, with an "—ic" at the end , and the number of feet in the line.

Popular Meters While there are many combinations of possible meters trochaic dimeter, anapestic hexameter that can be written, some are more common than others. Meters that often appear in poetry are: Iambic pentameter: Many of the most important works of English verse—from Chaucer to Roethke—are written in iambic pentameter, a type of meter that contains five iambs per line. The unstressed-stressed pattern of the iamb da- dum da- dum closely mimics the natural rhythm of speech, making it a versatile foot for composing poetry.

Geoffrey Chaucer popularized iambic pentameter in the 14th century with The Canterbury Tales , and William Shakespeare later cemented the popularity of the form by writing some of the English language's greatest works of literature Romeo and Juliet , Hamlet , Macbeth , etc. Though iambic pentameter has a long history in English, it's also still used in more modern poetry—Theodore Roethke's poem "The Waking," excerpted below, is a more recent example of a poem written in iambic pentameter.

Common meter: A metrical pattern often used in lyrical compositions, comprised of lines of four iambs iambic tetrameter alternating with lines of three iambs iambic trimeter. This meter has been used for centuries for a range of purposes—from Christian hymns and the Romantic poems of Wordsworth, to television theme songs, and its popularity over that time earned it the name "Common meter.

Metered Poetry and Free Verse Many poems include meter, but not all do. The three main types of poetry are: Formal verse : Poetry that has both a strict meter and rhyme scheme. Blank verse : Poetry that has a strict meter, but doesn't have a rhyme scheme. Free verse : Poetry that has neither any strict meter or rhyme scheme.

Metric Variations Within Metered Poems Although some poems written in meter use the same metrical pattern throughout the entire poem, it's also normal for a poem written in formal or blank verse to contain different types of meter or metrical feet within it. Meter vs. Metrical Form Not all poems that use meter have an overall metrical form such as "iambic pentameter. Meter in Accentual vs Quantitative Verse The stress patterns that form the basis of meter are measured differently depending on the language in which a poem is written.

Meter in accentual verse: Accentual verse is poetry in which the meter derives from the stress, or emphasis, placed on certain syllables.

Metered verse in English is almost always accentual verse, because English is a language whose rhythm derives from stress, rather than from other factors like syllable length.

Meter in quantitative verse: Quantitative verse is poetry in which the meter derives from the length of syllables, not from stress. In quantitative verse, for example, an iamb consists of two syllables in which the second is pronounced for a longer duration than the first. Quantitative verse occurs most often in classical Greek, Latin, and Sanskrit poetry, and it is almost impossible to write in English. Other types of meter: In still other languages, such as French and Chinese, meter is based solely on the number of syllables in a line, and not on the stress pattern or length of syllables.

Meter Examples The examples below show diverse uses of meter in poetry. Meter in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare used iambic pentameter throughout many of his plays, including Romeo and Juliet. Meter in Dickinson's "'Hope' is the thing with feathers" The majority of Emily Dickinson's poems, this one included, are written in common meter , a pattern that alternates between iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter.

Anapests in Masefield's "Sea Fever" The choppy, arhythmic meter of John Masefield's poem "Sea Fever" is a strong example of a poet matching a poem's form to its content using an irregular rhythm to evoke seasickness , as well as an example of multiple types of metrical feet being used within the same poem. Why Do Writers Use Meter? The dictionary definition of Meter: A basic definition that includes a bit on the etymology of meter spoiler, it comes from a Greek word that simply means "to measure".

Meter on YouTube This short video explains meter in under 3 minutes, even if its humor is kind of lame.

A musical overview of iambic pentameter and some of the types of feet used in Shakespeare's writing A more in-depth look at meter and the different types of feet used in writing metrical verse. Cite This Page. Sign up. Literary Terms Related to Meter. See all Literary Terms Sign up! PDF downloads of all LitCharts literature guides, and of every new one we publish. Here are a few examples of pyrrhic meter:. Since pyrrhic meter creates monotony, it's typically used in parts of poetry rather than the entire poem.

Now you've learned a lot about the types of meter in poetry. For more examples, check out examples of iambic pentameter. All rights reserved. Trochee Meter Examples Trochee meter has the first syllable accented and the second unaccented so it sounds like DUH duh.

Auden's " In Memory of W. Yeats ". Dactyl Meter Examples Dactyl meter has the first syllable accented and the second and third unaccented so it sounds like DUH duh duh.