Poetic Meters

Meter is the rhythmic structure of a poem. It refers to the number of syllables and the arrangement of stresses per line. Iambic pentameter is considered the most common form of meter in poetry, which was used extensively poetry from the likes of William Shakespeare.

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• a

• Accent
  In poetry, the word “accent” refers to the stressed syllable in a word. Metered lines of verse are made up of different groups of syllables.
• Accentual Verse
  Accentual verse focuses on the number of stressed syllables per line rather than the total number of syllables.
• Accentual-Syllabic Verse
  Accentual-syllabic verse is a type of accentual verse in which the writer uses the same number of syllables within each line.
• Acephalous
  An acephalous line is a form of a catalectic line of poetry. This type of line omits the first syllable of a metrical pattern.
• Alcaic Stanza
  An alcaic stanza is a type of lyrical meter thought to have been invented by Alcaeus, a writer from Mitylene.
• Alexandrine
  An alexandrine is a type of metrical line. It is most commonly refers to a line composed of twelve iambs.
• Alliterative Meter
  Alliterative meter is a type of verse that focuses on alliteration as a way of creating a metrical structure. Alliteration is used rather than accents or rhymes.
• Amphibrach
  An amphibrach is a form of meter. It occurs when the poet places one accented syllable, or stressed syllable, between two unstressed or unaccented syllables.
• Amphimacer
  An amphimacer is a metrical foot that consists of three syllables. It’s the opposite of an amphibrach.
• Anacrusis
  Anacrusis occurs when the poet includes an extra unstressed syllable at the beginning of a line of verse. This unstressed syllable is not part of the metrical pattern.
• Anapest
  Anapestic Meter depends on three-syllable sections of verse, or words. An anapest is two unstressed syllables followed by one stressed.

• c

• Cretic
  A cretic is an extremely rare metrical foot that’s composed of one stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable and concluded with one final stressed syllable. 

• d

• Dactyl
  A dactyl is one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables. It is the opposite of an anapest.
• Dactylic Pentameter
  Dactylic pentameter is a metrical pattern that can be found in some examples of English language poetry. The term refers to lines that consist of five, or sets of syllables, per line with three syllables per foot.
• Dimeter
  Dimeter refers to a specific arrangement of syllables in poetry. If a poem is written in dimeter, that means that the lines contain four syllables each.

• f

• Falling Rhythm
  The term “falling rhythm” refers to a rhythmic pattern that’s created through repeated metrical feet. These feet use a stressed beat followed by an unstressed beat or an accented syllable followed by an unaccented syllable.

• h

• Heptameter
  Heptameter is a type of meter in which each line in a poem uses seven metrical feet for a total of fourteen syllables.
• Hexameter
  Hexameter refers to a meter commonly used in Greek and Latin epic poetry. It contains six feet and usually utilizes a combination of dactyls and spondees. 

• i

• Iamb
  An iamb is a metrical unit. It occurs when two syllables are placed next to one another and the first is unstressed, or short, and the second is stressed, or long.
• Iambic Dimeter
  Iambic dimeter is a type of meter used in poetry. It occurs when the writer uses two iambs per line of verse.
• Iambic Pentameter
  Iambic pentameter is a very common way that lines of poetry are structured. Each line has five sets of two beats, the first is unstressed and the second is stressed.

• m

• Masculine Ending
  A masculine ending, a common term used in prosody, occurs when a metered verse line ends with a stressed syllable.
• Meter
  The meter is the pattern of beats in a line of poetry. It is a combination of the number of beats and arrangement of stresses.
• Monometer
  Monometer is a type of meter that uses single units of meter per line of verse. It could use a single iamb, trochee, etc.

• o

• Octameter
  Octameter refers to a line of verse that contains sixteen syllables or eight metrical feet. It is one of the less common patterns in English language verse.
• Octosyllabic 
  Octosyllabic verse, or an octosyllable poem, is a piece of poetry that uses eight-syllable lines. It’s possible to describe an entire poem or a single line as octosyllabic. 

• p

• Pentameter
  In poetry, “pentameter” refers to a line that contains a total of ten syllables. Commonly, these are divided into iambs or trochees.
• Poetic Foot
  In literature, a foot refers to a unit of meter in poetry. It is a grouping of stressed and/or unstressed syllables.
• Pyrrhic
  The term “pyrrhic” is used to refer to a metrical foot that contains two unstressed syllables. The foot is less common today than it was in classical Greek poetry. 

• q

• Quantitative Verse
  Quantitative verse is a metrical system used in classical poetry that is dependent on the duration of syllables rather than the number of stresses.

• r

• Rhythm
  Rhythm refers to the use of long and short stresses, or stressed and unstressed, within the writing.

• s

• Spondee
  Spondee is an arrangement of two syllables in which both are stressed.
• Sprung Rhythm
  Sprung rhythm is a rhythmic pattern used in poetry that mimics natural speech. 
• Strong-stress Meter
  Strong-stress meter is a less-commonly used term to describe the metrical pattern used in accentual verse. That is, verse that depends entirely on the number of stresses per line.

• t

• Tetrameter
  The term “tetrameter” refers to a line of poetry that includes four metrical feet. These feet may conform to various metrical forms. 
• Trochaic Pentameter
  Trochaic pentameter is an uncommon form of meter. It refers to lines of verse that contain five sets of two beats, the first of which is stressed and the second is unstressed. 
• Trochee
  Trochees are the exact opposite of an iamb, meaning that the first syllable is stressed and the second is unstressed.

• w

• Weak Ending
  A weak ending occurs when a poet ends a line with an unstressed syllable. Often, the syllable extends the metrical pattern beyond that which is used in most of the poem.