Meter

In poetry, we use the term meter to refer to the specific rhythmical pattern within lines of poetry.



Acatalexis vs. Catalexis
The term acatalexis is used to refer to a line of poetry having a complete pattern of syllables. Its antonym, catalexis, refers to a line of poetry that has one (or possibly more) "incomplete" feet.

The Six Feet
There are actually quite a few more feet than the six listed below, however, these six are the most common in the English language.

Iamb
The iamb is a pattern of | u / | (unstressed - stressed). This is a naturally occurring pattern in English--if you stopped and analyzed each and every thing you've ever said, you might be surprised to realize how much of it is iambic. Iambic meter has been accused of being "sing-song" because of the flow of the cadence.

Let's consider a few examples: I think that I shall never see (from "Trees" by Joyce Kilmer) becomes I THINK that I shall NEV er SEE (iambic tetrameter) and Whose woods these are I think I know (from "Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost) becomes Whose WOODS these ARE I THINK I KNOW (iambic tetrameter)

Trochee
The trochee is the mirror of the iamb, its pattern being two syllables: | / u | (stressed - unstressed).

Let's consider a few examples:

Double, double, toil and trouble (from William Shakespeare's Macbeth) becomes DOU ble DOU ble TOIL and TROU ble

For the soul is dead that slumbers, (from "A Psalm of Life," Henry Wadsworth Longsfellow) FOR the SOUL is DEAD that SLUM bers

Spondee
Spondees are uncommon, and generally occur as part of a variation in another meter within a line of poetry. A spondee is a foot consisting of two stressed syllables: | / / |  For example:  HUM DRUM 

Pyrrhus
A pyrrhus, like its sibling, the spondee, is rare. The pyrrhic foot is a pattern of two UNSTRESSED syllables. To understand how that works, look at this line from Tennyson's poem In Memoriam:

When the BLOOD CREEPS  and the  NERVES PRICK

Anapest
An anapest is a poetic foot having the stress pattern of two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable: | u u / |. Interestingly enough, the word anapest is not, itself, anapestic (it's a dactyl).

One of the most fun examples of anapestic meter is courtesy Dr. Seuss:

And today the Great Yertle, that marvelous he (from "Yertle the Turtle") And to DAY the great YER tle, that MAR velous HE

Dactyl
The last poetic foot we'll discuss is the dactyl, having a pattern of stressed, unstressed, unstressed: | / u u |

Consider this line from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Evangeline:

This is the forest primeval. The murmuring pines and the hemlocks

Start by counting the syllables. There are seventeen--neither two nor three is evenly divisible into seventeen, so you can assume that there's going to be at least one odd foot out.

THIS is the FOR est pri ME val. The MUR muring PINES and the HEMLOCKS

What we have here is a pattern of dactyls with one spondee thrown in at the end.

Numerical Patterns
This chart shows the most typical patterns you'll see regarding the number of feet in a line of poetry. Obviously, a line could have more syllables, but it's rare. The most common patterns are tetrameter (four feet) and pentameter (five feet).