LiteratureLesson 2 of 4 in the course Poetry

Poetic Metre: Feet, Forms, Variations, and Global Traditions

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

Metre is the basic rhythmic structure of a verse line or a sequence of lines. A traditional verse form may prescribe one metre or a sequence of metres. Prosody is the study and use of metre and other features of versification. In linguistics, prosody can also refer to rhythm and related features in ordinary speech and prose.

Metre is a framework, not necessarily a perfect description of how a line is spoken. A poem’s natural speech rhythm can vary against its metrical pattern, creating expressive effects.

All flashcards

Metrical foot
A recurring sequence of syllable types used to describe a line’s rhythmic pattern.
Iamb
A foot with an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.
Caesura
A pause within a poetic line; its specific role varies across traditions.
Enjambment
The continuation of syntax or sense beyond a line ending without a terminal pause.
Heroic couplet
A rhymed pair of iambic pentameter lines.

Quiz questions

  1. In accentual verse, what feature is regulated while the number of unstressed syllables may vary?Answer: The number of stresses in each line
  2. Which description defines blank verse?Answer: Unrhymed iambic pentameter
  3. What metrical pattern commonly forms a stanza of common metre?Answer: Iambic tetrameter followed by iambic trimeter in each pair of lines
  4. In classical Greek and Latin dactylic hexameter, what is the usual pattern for the first four feet?Answer: Each may be a dactyl or a spondee
  5. What characterizes Gerard Manley Hopkins’s sprung rhythm?Answer: Feet have variable syllable counts, with stress on each foot’s first syllable

Based on the Wikipedia article Metre (poetry), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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