Definitions of poetry meters/ rhythms

Poetry Meters/Rhythms Definitions Example
anapest two unaccented syllables or words followed by an accented syllable. Ex. "And the peak of the mountain was apples" "magazine"
Burns metre Scottish poetry meter consisting of six lines with rhyme aaabab
dactyl long vowel syllable followed by two short vowel syllables in word or phrase. Word:poetry; Phrase:This is the forest primeval.
dimeter verse with two metrical feet Ex. "and stoop and drink and bathe my wings"
foot/feet repeated pattern(s) or arrangements of stressed and unstressed syllables
heptameter a line of verse having seven foot
hexameter a six foot line of verse Ex. "this is the/ forest pri/ meval the/ murmuring/ pines and the/ hemlocks
iambic a metrical foot consisting of one short syllable (Classical verse) or one unstressed syllable (English verse) followed by one long unstressed syllable.
octave term used to describe a poem that consists of eight words or syllables.
ottava rima an iambic pentameter scheme abababcc
pentameter five foot verse
quintilla Spanish poetry a 5 line stanza with eight syllable lines and one of four rhyme schemes: ababa; abbab; abaab; or aabba.
rime royal an iambic pentameter scheme ababbcc
sestet a poem or stanza of six lines, most often the second part of a sonnet
spondaic/spondee a metrical foot of two long syllables Ex. "I mean taste, sight, smell…"
tetrameter a line of verse having four feet. E."Whose woods these are I think I know
trimeter a line of verse having three feet Ex, alone/ he rides/ alone
trochaic/trachee a foot of two syllables of which the first is long or stressed and the second short or unstressed. Ex."why so pale and wan"

Elementary school source

See Also: Poetry Forms


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