Introduction to Poetic Meter

Peters, 2013

What is METER?

• Any piece of writing (or music) in which there is a regular pattern of beats is said to have ‘meter’

• The patterns are made of hard and soft beats• Let’s identify some patterns…

The pattern

~ /

This represents a soft beat

This respresents a hard beat

Together, the repeat of a

combination is called a “foot”

Look at the following patterns and count how many feet you can see!

1. ~/~/~/~/~/2.~~/~~/~~/3./~/~/~/~/~/~4./~/~/~/~5./~~/~~

To name the line, use the following Number of feet

Prefix + meter=

One Mono Monometer

Two Di Dimeter

Three Tri Trimeter

Four Tetra Tetrameter

Five Penta Pentameter

Six Hex a Hexameter

Seven Hep a Heptameter

Eight oct a octameter

Label the following patterns

1. ~/ ~/ ~/ ~/ ~/2. ~~/ ~~/ ~~/3. /~/~/~/~/~/~4. /~~ /~~

What are the different feet called?Pattern Noun Adjective

~/ Iamb iambic

~~/ Anapest anapestic

/~~ Dactyl Dactylic

/~ Trochee Trochaic

// Spondee spondaic

We describe a poetic line, then, by its type and number of poetic feet. For example, 5 iambs = iambic pentameter (ah, Shakespeare!!!)

Chaucer wrote in two rhyming lines of iambic pentamter, known as a “heroic couplet”Shakespeare borrowed this form to express love and wickedness~ / ~ / ~ / ~ / ~ /He knew the way to sit a horse and ride~ / ~ / ~ / ~ / ~ /He could make songs and poems and recite