Cummings Study Guide

    Meter in Poetry and Verse
    A Study Guide
    Cummings Guides Home..|..Contact This Site.

    By Michael J. Cummings...© 2006



    .......In verse and poetry, meter is a recurring pattern of stressed (accented, or long) and unstressed (unaccented, or short) syllables in lines of a set length. For example, suppose a line contains ten syllables (set length) in which the first syllable is unstressed, the second is stressed, the third is unstressed, the fourth is stressed, and so on until the line reaches the tenth syllable. The line would look like the following one (the opening line of Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18") containing a pattern of unstressed and stressed syllables. The unstressed syllables are in blue and the stressed syllables in red.

    Shall I com PARE thee TO a SUM mer’s DAY?
    Each pair of unstressed and stressed syllables makes up a unit called a foot. The line contains five feet in all, as shown next:
    ....1.............. 2.................3..............4................ 5
    Shall.I..|..com.PARE..|..thee.TO..|..a.SUM..|..mer’s DAY?
    .......A foot containing an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable (as above) is called an iamb. Because there are five feet in the line, all iambic, the meter of the line is iambic pentameter. The prefix pent in pentameter means five (Greek: penta, five). Pent is joined to words or word roots to form new words indicating five. For example, the Pentagon in Washington has five sides, the Pentateuch of the Bible consists of five books, and a pentathlon in a sports event has five events. Thus, poetry lines with five feet are in pentameter.
    .......Some feet in verse and poetry have different stress patterns. For example, one type of foot consists of two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed one. Another type consists of a stressed one followed by an unstressed one. In all, there are six types of feet:
    Iamb (Iambic)
    Unstressed + Stressed
    Two Syllables
    Trochee (Trochaic)
    Stressed + Unstressed
    Two Syllables
    Spondee (Spondaic)
    Stressed + Stressed
    Two Syllables
    Anapest (Anapestic)
    Unstressed + Unstressed + Stressed
    Three Syllables
    Dactyl (Dactylic
    Stressed + Unstressed + Unstressed
    Three Syllables
    Pyrrhic
    Unstressed + Unstressed
    Two Syllables

    The length of lines—and thus the meter—can also vary. Following are the types of meter and the line length:

    Monometer
    One Foot
    Dimeter
    Two Feet
    Trimeter
    Three Feet
    Tetrameter
    Four Feet
    Pentameter
    Five Feet
    Hexameter
    Six Feet
    Heptameter
    Seven Feet
    Octameter
    Eight Feet

    .......Meter is determined by the type of foot and the number of feet in a line. Thus, a line with three iambic feet is known as iambic trimeter. A line with six dactylic feet is known as dactylic hexameter. .
    Examples From Poems

    Following are additional examples feet and meter combinations.

    Iambic Pentameter
    From "On His Blindness," by John Milton

    1.............2............. 3...............4..............5
    When I..|..con SID..|..er HOW..|..my LIFE..|..is SPENT
    1.................2.............. 3..................4...................4
    Ere HALF..|..my DAYS..|..in THIS..|..dark WORLD..|..and WIDEMixed Meter With Iambic Feet
    From "Intimations of Immortality," by William Wordsworth
    .........1...............2.................3.....................4......................5
    There WAS..|..a TIME..|..when MEAD..|..ow, GROVE,..|..and STREAM,
    Iambic Pentameter
    .........1................2...............3................4.
    The EARTH,..|..and EV..|..ry COM..|..mon SIGHT,
    Iambic Tetrameter
    .....1..............2
    To ME..|..did SEEM
    Iambic Dimeter
    ......1..............2.............3...............4
    Ap PAR..|..elled IN..|..cel EST..|..ial LIGHT,
    Iambic Tetrameter
    ........1..............2.................3................4.................5
    The GLOR..|..y AND..|..the FRESH..|..ness OF..|..a DREAM.
    Iambic Pentameter
    ..1.............2.............3.............4..................5
    It IS..|..not NOW..|..as IT..|..hath BEEN..|..of YORE;
    Iambic Pentameter
    ........1....................2.............3
    Turn WHERE..|..so E'ER..|..I MAY,
    Iambic Trimeter
    .......1..............2
    By NIGHT..|..or DAY,
    Iambic Dimeter
    ..........1...............2.................3................4................5..............6
    The THINGS..|..which I..|..have SEEN..|..I NOW..|..can SEE..|..no MORE.
    Iambic Hexameter

    Anapestic Tetrameter
    From "The Destruction of Sennacherib," by George Gordon Lord Byron

    ........1.......................2..........................3......................4
    The As SYR..|..ian came DOWN..|..like the WOLF..|..on the FOLD,
    ........1.......................2..........................3....................4
    And his CO..|..horts were GLEAM..|..ing in PUR..|..ple and GOLD;
    .........1.........................2.............................3.......................4
    And the SHEEN..|..of their SPEARS..|..was like STARS..|..on the SEA Trochaic Tetrameter
    From "The Tyger," by William Blake
    ....1.............2...............3.................4
    TY ger..|..TY ger..|..BURN ning..|..BRIGHT
    ....1...............2...............3............4
    IN the..|..FOR..ests..|..OF the..|..NIGHT
    These lines contain trochaic feet—consisting of a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable. But the final foot of each line is incomplete, containing only a stressed syllable. An incomplete foot at the end of a line is called catalexis, and bright and night are called catalectic feet. The meter of these lines is trochaic tetrameter—tetrameter because they each contain three complete feet and one incomplete foot, for a total of four feet. A complete foot at the end of a line is called acatalexis. The final feet in the stanza under Mixed Meter With Iambic Feet are all acatalectic.

    Share this page:
    More To Explore
    Contact & About