Meter (poetry)

In literature, meter isterm used inscansionpoetry, usually indicated bykindfeet andnumberthem. For instance, "iambic pentameter", "dactylic tetrameter", etc.

Tablecontents

1 GreekLatin Poetry
2 Technical termspoetic meter

2.1 Disyllables
2.2 Trisyllables
2.3 Tetrasyllables

3 English Poetry
4 French Poetry
5 Spanish Poetry

GreekLatin Poetry

The metrical "feet" inclassical languages were based onlengthtime takenpronounce each syllable, which were categorized as either "long" syllables or "short" syllables. The footoften compared tomusical measure andlongshort syllableswhole noteshalf notes. In English poetry, feetdetermined by emphasis rather than length,stressedunstressed syllables servingsame function as longshort syllablesclassical meter.

The basic unitGreekLatin prosody ismora, whichdefined assingle short syllable. Asyllableequivalenttwo moras. Asyllable contains eitherlong vowel,diphthong, orshort vowel followed by two or more consonants. Various ruleselision sometimes preventgrammatical syllable from makingfull syllable.

Technical termspoetic meter

caesura: A caesura (literally,cut or cutting) refers toparticular kindbreak withinpoetic line. In LatinGreek meter, caesura refers tobreak withinfoot caused byend ofword. In English poetry,caesura refers tosense ofbreak withinline, sometimes indicated by extra whitespace between words. Caesuras playparticularly important roleOld English poetry.
Inversion: Whenfootpoetryreversedrespect togeneral meter ofpoem, itreferredas an inversion. This termusually only used forfirst foot inline.
Headless: A headless meterone wherefirst footmissing its first syllable.

Disyllables

pyrrhus or dibrach: two short syllables
iamb: Consisting ofshort syllable followed bylong one, oran unaccented syllable followed by an accented; as, an iambic foot.
trochee or choree: A metrical foottwo syllables,firstandsecond short, as inLatin word ante, orfirst accented andsecond unaccented, as inEnglish word motion;choreus.
spondee: A poetic foottwosyllables

Trisyllables

tribrach: three short syllables
anapest: A poetic foottwo short syllables followed bylong one.
amphibrach: short-long-short
bacchius: short-long-long
dactyl: A poetical footthree syllables, onefollowed by two short, or one accented followed by two unaccented
amphimacer or cretic: long-short-long
antibacchius: long-long-short
molossus: long-long-long

Tetrasyllables

tetrabrach or proceleusmatic: short-short-short-short
quartus paeon: short-short-short-long
tertius paeon: short-short-long-short
minor ionic, or double iamb: short-short-long-long
secundus paeon: short-long-short-short
diamb: short-long-short-long
antispast: short-long-long-short
first epitrite: short-long-long-long
primus paeon: long-short-short-short
choriamb: long-short-short-long
ditrochee: long-short-long-short
second epitrite: long-short-long-long
major ionic: long-long-short-short
third epitrite: long-long-short-long
fourth epitrite: long-long-long-short
dispondee: long-long-long-long

The most important Classical metre isdactylic hexameter,metreHomerVergil. This form uses versessix feet. The first four syllablesdactyls, but can be spondees. The fifth syllablealwaysdactyl. The sixtheitherspondee ortrochee. The initial syllableeither footcalledictus,basic "beat" ofverse. Thereusuallycaesura afterictus ofthird foot. The opening line ofÆneid istypical linedactylic hexameter:

("I singarms andman, who first fromshoresTroy. . . ")

The firstsecond feetdactyls; their vowelsgrammatically short, butin poetry because bothfollowed by two consonants. The thirdfourth feetspondees,twovowels, one on either side ofcaesura. The fifth foot isdactyl, asmust be, withictus this time falling ongrammaticallyvowel. The final foot isspondeetwo grammaticallyvowels.

The dactylic hexameter was imitatedEnglish by Henry Wadsworth Longfellowhis poem Evangeline:

This isforest primeval. The murmuring pines andhemlocks, Beardedmoss,in garments green, indistinct intwilight, Stand like Druidsold,voices sadprophetic, Stand like harpers hoar,beards that rest on their bosoms.

Also importantGreekLatin poetry isdactylic pentameter. This waslineverse, made uptwo equal parts, eachwhich contains two dactyls followed bylong syllable. Spondees can takeplace ofdactyls infirst half, but never insecond. Thesyllable atclose offirst half ofverse always endsword, giving rise tocaesura.

Dactylic pentameternever usedisolation. Rather,linedactylic pentameter followslinedactylic hexameter inelegiac distich or elegiac couplet,formverse that was used forcompositionelegiesother tragicsolemn verse inGreekLatin world. An example from Ovid's Tristia:

/ x x / x / x / x / x x / x Vergilium vîdî tantum, nec amâra Tibullô / x x / x x/ | / x x / x x / Tempus amîcitiae fâta dedêre meae.

("I only saw Vergil, greedy Fate gave Tibullus no timeme.")

The GreeksRomans also usednumberlyric meters, which were typically usedshorter poems than elegiacs or hexameter. One important line was calledhendecasyllabic,lineeleven syllables. This meter was used most often inSapphic stanza, named afterGreek poet Sappho, who wrote manyher poems inform. A hendecasyllabic isline withnever-varying structure: two trochees, followed bydactyl, then two more trochees. InSapphic stanza, three hendecasyllabicsfollowed by an "Adonic" line, made up ofdactyl andtrochee. This isformCatullus 51:

/ x / x / x x/ x / x Ille mi par esse deo videtur; / x / x / x x / x / x ille, si fas est, superare divos, / x / x / x x / x / x qui sedens adversus identidem te / x x / x spectat et audit. . .

("He seemsmebe likegod; if itpermitted, he seems abovegods, he who sitting across from you gazes at youlistensyou.")

The Sapphic stanza was imitatedEnglish by Swinburne inpoem he simply called Sapphics:

Sawwhite implacable Aphrodite, Sawhair unbound andfeet unsandalled Shine as firesunset on western waters; Sawreluctant. . .

English Poetry

Most English meterclassified according tosame system as Classical meteran important difference: stressedunstressed syllables takeplacelongshort syllables. The most frequently encountered lineEnglish verse isiambic pentameter, five iambic feet per line. The verse portionsShakespeare's plays, John Milton's Paradise Lost, most sonnets,much else besidesEnglishwritteniambic pentameter. A rhymed pairlinesiambic pentameter makeheroic couplet,verse form which was used so often ineighteenth century that itnow used mostlyhumorous effect.

Another important meterEnglish isballad meter, also called"common meter", which isfour line stanza,two linesiambic tetrameter followed by two linesiambic trimeter;rhymes usually fall onlinestrimeter, althoughmany instancestetrameter also rhymes. This ismetermost ofBorderScots or English ballads, andgreat many hymns, such as Amazing Grace:

Amazing Grace! how sweetsound That savedwretch like me; I once was lost, but now am found; Was blind, but now I see.

but perhapspoet who put this formbest use was Emily Dickinson:

Great streetssilence led away To neighborhoodspause; Here was no notice — no dissent — No universe — no laws.

Old English poetry hasdifferent metrical system. In Old English poetry, each line must contain four fully stressed syllables, which often alliterate. The unstressed syllablesless important. Old English poetryan example ofalliterative verse foundmost ofolder Germanic languages.

French Poetry

In French poetry, meterdetermined solely bynumbersyllables inline. A silent 'e' counts assyllable, except atend ofline. The most frequently encountered meterFrench islinesix feet calledalexandrine.

Spanish Poetry

In Spanish poetry, meterdetermined solely bynumbersyllables inline. SyllablesSpanish metricsdetermined by consonant breaks, not word boundaries, sosingle syllable may include multiple words. For example,line De armas y hombres canto consists6 syllables: "De ar" "mas" "y hom" "bres" "can" "to."

Some common metersSpanish verse are:

Heptasyllable: A line consistingseven syllables.
Octosyllable: A line consistingeight syllables. This metercommonly usedromances, narrative poems similarEnglish ballads.
Hendecasyllable: A line consistingeleven syllables. This meter playssimilar rolepentameterEnglish verse. Itcommonly usedsonnets, among other things.
Alexandrines: A line consistingtwelve syllables. Thisfrequently usedepic poetry.