At the core of poetry is rhythm. The arrangement of syllables in a line or verse is carefully orchestrated by the poet and is known as poetic meter. It’s an expressive and technical tool that poets use to imbue their poems with specific feelings and moods.
Finding and determining which meter is being used (or whether one is used at all) is one of the most important parts of a comprehensive poetic analysis.
Key Terms to Know
Before digging into the intricacies of poetic meter, here are a few key terms you should have a basic understanding of:
- Meter: The rhythmic structure of a poem or line of a poem.
- Syllables: A unit of pronunciation that forms the whole or a part of a word.
- Stressed Syllable: A syllable that is emphasized in pronunciation more than others in a word.
- Unstressed Syllable: A syllable that’s less emphasized in pronunciation compared to the stressed syllables.
- Foot: The unit of measurement in metrical poetry. It consists of a set pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables.
- Iamb: A poetic foot that contains one unstressed syllable and one stressed syllable (ex. “a-LONE”).
- Trochee: A poetic foot that contains one stressed syllable and one unstressed syllable (ex. “GAR-den”).
- Anapest: A metrical foot that contains two unstressed syllables followed by one stressed syllable (ex. “in-ter-VENE”).
- Dactyl: A metrical foot that contains one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables (ex. “BEAU-ti-ful”).
Understanding Syllables
The key to understanding poetic meter lies in the syllables. They are the building blocks of words and consist of a vowel sound, with or without surrounding consonants.
Syllables play a crucial role in dictating the sounds in poetry, and you’ll need to have a thorough understanding of stressed and unstressed syllables (explored below) to interpret meter.
To identify how many syllables are in a word, you might count on your fingers or tap a finger while speaking aloud. This can help pinpoint where one syllable ends and another begins.
The Concept of Stress in Syllables
If you really want to understand meter, you need to be able to identify which syllables are stressed and which are unstressed. The difference between the two can be difficult to spot in some cases and requires some practice to master.
Stressed syllables are those which are emphasized more than the surrounding syllables and the opposite goes for unstressed syllables. A stressed syllable will result in a combination of factors. For example, when read aloud, these syllables will be louder, high pitched, longer in duration, and have a fuller vowel sound. In any given word, the stressed syllables usually stand out because they are pronounced with more force and clarity. Some examples include “RE-cord” with “RE” as the stressed syllable, “fan-TAS-tic” with “TAS” as the stressed syllable.
Unstressed syllables are the opposite. These are syllables that are pronounced with less emphasis than those around them. These are usually softer, shorter, and have a more muted vowel tone. For example, “COM-pu-ter” has two unstressed syllables (and is an example of a dactyl). Another example is “IN-for-MA-tion” in which “for” and “tion” are unstressed.
The key to identifying the difference between these syllables is to read each word carefully (and even out loud) to see where the stresses fall. It can help to mark the syllables that are stressed and unstressed. This is something known as scansion.
Poetic Meter
Now that you have a basic understanding of what kinds of syllables you’ll come across in poetry, it’s time to complicate things. Poets use what is known as “poetic meter” in their poems to provide them with rhythm and achieve specific effects.
There are a number of different types of meter that poets can use. These are structured patterns that use iambs, trochees, dactyls, and more. For example:
- Iambic pentameter: An incredibly famous metrical pattern that consists of five iambs per line, an iamb being a metrical foot with one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.
- Trochaic trimeter: A line of verse that contains four trochees, or four sets of syllables, the first of which is stressed and the second of which is unstressed.
- Dactylic hexameter: The meter that is used throughout Ancient Greek and Latin poetry. It contains six dactyls per line, where a dactyl is a foot with one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables. (Homer’s ‘Iliad’ and ‘Odyssey’ are written in this poetic meter.)
- Anapestic trimeter: This pattern consists of three anapests per line. An anapest is a metrical foot with two unstressed syllables followed by one stressed syllable.
Identifying Poetic Meter
Knowing which meters are commonly used in poetry is helpful. But, more than anything else, you need to be able to identify poetic meter on your own and determine how and why a poet is using it.
Knowing which beats are stressed and unstressed, and how many there are, is key here, especially when you consider that poets don’t always stick to one pattern throughout an entire poem or even within an entire line.
- Read the Poem Aloud: This is one of the easiest ways to improve your understanding of stressed and unstressed beats. It can make it easier to notice the natural rhythm of language.
- Identify Individual Syllables: Next, you’re going to want to break down each word into its syllables. Remember, each syllable has a vowel sound, and sometimes a single vowel can form a syllable.
- Determine the Stressed and Unstressed Syllables: Mark the stressed (usually indicated with a //) and unstressed syllables (usually indicated with an x) – on Poem Analysis, we mark the STRESSED syllables in BOLD UPPERCASE and unstressed in normal lowercase. This way, once you finish a line, you can count how many there are of each and determine which metrical foot is being used.
- Look for Patterns: Look for repeating patterns in the lines. For example, the consistent use of unstressed/stressed syllables in words indicates the poet is using iambs. If there are five of these per line, the line (and maybe the whole poem) is in iambic pentameter.
- Consider Variations: Poets often break their own patterns when writing. This is done for effect but also when a crucial word doesn’t fit the pattern. If you suddenly see two stressed syllables next to one another when this hasn’t occurred anywhere else, you may have a variation on your hands.
- Understand the Impact: Sometimes, it becomes clear when reading a poem that the first or last word of each line is important and contains a specific arrangement of stresses that help it stand out. This may help you determine the overall pattern of a poem.
- Practice and Compare: In order to really get a handle on identifying metrical patterns, you’re going to want to practice and compare poems. What makes a poem in iambic pentameter sound different than a poem in trochaic tetrameter?
The Artistic Purpose of Meter
Meter is not just about conforming to tradition (such as iambic pentameter in sonnets) or providing poems with a rhythmic structure; it has an artistic side too.
Meter imparts a rhythmic quality to poetry, akin to the rhythm of a piece of music. The repeated syllabic patterns create a cadence that can evoke different feelings. Poems can feel smoothing, invigorating, jarring, and more in accordance with the chosen meter.
Iambic pentameter, for example, has a heartbeat-like rhythm that usually conveys a sense of calm. Anapestic meter, on the other hand, is known for its light-footed, quick rhythm and a more whimsical tone.
Examples of Poetic Meter in Poetry
Consult the examples below if you want specific instances in which some well-known metrical patterns are used:
- Iambic Pentameter: ‘Sonnet 18’ by William Shakespeare
- Trochaic Tetrameter: ‘The Song of Hiawatha’ by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
- Anapestic Tetrameter: ‘The Destruction of Sennacherib’ by Lord Byron
- Dactylic Hexameter: ‘The Aeneid’ by Virgil
- Ballad Meter: ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
- Iambic Tetrameter: ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’ by Robert Frost
- Blank Verse: ‘Mending Wall’ by Robert Frost.
