Comprehensive Guide to Meter, Rhyme, and Poetic Structures
| Foot Name | Pattern | Symbol | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iamb / Iambic | Unstressed + Stressed (weak-STRONG) | ˘ ˉ (or × /) | a-LONE, to-DAY "Shall I com-PARE thee TO a SUM-mer's DAY?" |
| Trochee / Trochaic | Stressed + Unstressed (STRONG-weak) | ˉ ˘ (or / ×) | TY-ger, HEA-vy "TY-ger, TY-ger, BURN-ing BRIGHT" |
| Anapest / Anapestic | Unstressed + Unstressed + Stressed (weak-weak-STRONG) | ˘ ˘ ˉ (or × × /) | in-ter-VENE "'Twas the NIGHT be-fore CHRIST-mas" |
| Dactyl / Dactylic | Stressed + Unstressed + Unstressed (STRONG-weak-weak) | ˉ ˘ ˘ (or / × ×) | MER-ri-ly, TEN-der-ly "HALF a league, HALF a league" |
| Spondee / Spondaic | Stressed + Stressed (STRONG-STRONG) | ˉ ˉ (or / /) | HEART-BREAK, SLOW COACH Rare as predominant foot; used for variation |
| Pyrrhic | Unstressed + Unstressed (weak-weak) | ˘ ˘ (or × ×) | of the, in a Rare as predominant foot; used for variation |
| Most Common | IAMBIC (most natural in English); Trochaic second | ||
| Line Name | Number of Feet | Example (Iambic) |
|---|---|---|
| Monometer | 1 foot | "Thus I" (Very rare) |
| Dimeter | 2 feet | "I THINK that I shall NEV-er SEE" (Rare as sustained meter) |
| Trimeter | 3 feet | "The CUR-few TOLLS the KNELL" (Common in ballads, hymns) |
| Tetrameter | 4 feet | "I WAKE to SLEEP, and TAKE my WAK-ing SLOW" (Very common) |
| Pentameter | 5 feet | "Shall I com-PARE thee TO a SUM-mer's DAY?" (MOST COMMON in English poetry) |
| Hexameter | 6 feet | "This IS the FOR-est PRIM-e-VAL, the MUR-mur-ing PINES" (Also called Alexandrine in English) |
| Heptameter | 7 feet | "The AS-sy-RI-an came DOWN like the WOLF on the FOLD" (Rare; also called "Fourteener" if iambic) |
| Most Important | IAMBIC PENTAMETER = 5 iambs = 10 syllables Dominant meter in English (Shakespeare, Milton, Wordsworth, etc.) | |
| Term | Definition | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Blank Verse | Unrhymed iambic pentameter • Most prestigious English verse form • Has meter (iambic pentameter) • NO rhyme | • Shakespeare's plays • Milton's Paradise Lost • Wordsworth's Prelude • Tennyson's "Ulysses" |
| Free Verse (Vers Libre) | No regular meter, no rhyme • Neither metrical nor rhymed • Uses rhythm, not meter • 20th century dominant form | • Walt Whitman • T.S. Eliot • Modern/contemporary poetry • Follows natural speech rhythms |
| Key Distinction | Blank Verse = METRICAL but unrhymed; Free Verse = NEITHER metrical nor rhymed | |
| Type | Definition | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| End Rhyme | Rhyme at line endings (most common) | "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate" (day/temperate = near rhyme) |
| Internal Rhyme | Rhyme within a line | "Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered weak and weary" (dreary/weary rhyme internally) |
| Masculine Rhyme | Single syllable rhyme (strong ending) | cat/bat, hill/mill, men/then |
| Feminine Rhyme | Two+ syllable rhyme (weak ending) | butter/clutter, waken/taken, louder/prouder |
| Perfect / Full Rhyme | Exact vowel and consonant match | cat/bat, day/say, night/sight |
| Slant / Half / Near Rhyme | Approximate rhyme (consonance/assonance) | soul/oil, years/yours, orange/door hinge (Used by Dickinson, Yeats, contemporary poets) |
| Eye Rhyme | Look alike but don't sound alike | love/move, cough/bough, though/through |
| Scheme | Pattern | Used In |
|---|---|---|
| Couplet | AA BB CC... | Heroic couplets (iambic pentameter): Pope, Dryden Closed couplet = complete thought in two lines |
| Alternate / Cross Rhyme | ABAB CDCD... | Ballad stanza, many lyrics |
| Enclosed / Envelope Rhyme | ABBA CDDC... | In Memoriam stanza (Tennyson) |
| Tercet (Triplet) | AAA BBB... | Rare as sustained form |
| Terza Rima | ABA BCB CDC... | Dante's Divine Comedy; Shelley's "Ode to the West Wind" Interlocking tercets |
| Monorhyme | AAAA... | Rare; all lines rhyme |
| Type | Structure | Rhyme Scheme | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shakespearean (English) | 14 lines 3 quatrains + couplet | ABAB CDCD EFEF GG | • Iambic pentameter • Volta (turn) usually before final couplet • Couplet = epigrammatic conclusion • Examples: Shakespeare's 154 sonnets |
| Petrarchan (Italian) | 14 lines Octave + sestet | ABBAABBA CDECDE (or CDCDCD) | • Iambic pentameter • Volta between octave and sestet • Octave = problem/question • Sestet = resolution/answer • Examples: Petrarch, Milton, Wordsworth |
| Spenserian | 14 lines 3 quatrains + couplet | ABAB BCBC CDCD EE | • Iambic pentameter • Interlocking rhymes (like terza rima) • Used by Spenser in Amoretti |
| Key Point | ALL sonnets = 14 lines, iambic pentameter; differ in rhyme scheme and division | ||
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Structure | 9 lines per stanza 8 lines iambic pentameter + 1 line iambic hexameter (Alexandrine) |
| Rhyme Scheme | ABABBCBCC Interlocking pattern |
| Used In | • Spenser's The Faerie Queene (created the form) • Byron's Childe Harold's Pilgrimage • Keats's "The Eve of St. Agnes" • Shelley's "Adonais" |
| Characteristics | • Final Alexandrine = slow, stately conclusion • Complex interlocking rhymes • Suited to narrative |
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Structure | 4 lines per stanza Alternating tetrameter and trimeter Lines 1 & 3: iambic tetrameter (4 feet) Lines 2 & 4: iambic trimeter (3 feet) |
| Rhyme Scheme | ABCB (lines 2 & 4 rhyme) Sometimes ABAB |
| Used In | • Traditional ballads ("Sir Patrick Spens," "Lord Randal") • Hymns (Common Meter) • Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" • Emily Dickinson's poems |
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Structure | Tercets (3-line stanzas) Interlocking rhyme Usually iambic pentameter in English |
| Rhyme Scheme | ABA BCB CDC DED... YZY Z Middle rhyme of each stanza becomes outer rhyme of next Concludes with single line rhyming with middle of previous tercet |
| Used In | • Dante's Divine Comedy (Italian original) • Shelley's "Ode to the West Wind" • Frost's "Acquainted with the Night" |
| Effect | Forward momentum; interlocking creates continuity |
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Structure | 8 lines per stanza Iambic pentameter |
| Rhyme Scheme | ABABABCC Six alternating lines + concluding couplet |
| Used In | • Byron's Don Juan • Yeats's "Sailing to Byzantium," "Among School Children" • Italian epic tradition |
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Structure | 19 lines total 5 tercets + 1 quatrain Highly structured with refrains |
| Rhyme Scheme | ABA ABA ABA ABA ABA ABAA Only two rhymes for entire poem |
| Refrains | Line 1 repeats: lines 6, 12, 18 Line 3 repeats: lines 9, 15, 19 Two alternating refrains |
| Famous Examples | • Dylan Thomas, "Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" • Elizabeth Bishop, "One Art" • Theodore Roethke, "The Waking" |
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Structure | 39 lines total 6 stanzas of 6 lines each + 1 envoi of 3 lines |
| Pattern | End-word repetition (NOT rhyme) Same 6 words end lines in rotating pattern Envoi uses all 6 words (3 in line, 3 at end) |
| Rotation | If first stanza ends: 1-2-3-4-5-6 Second stanza: 6-1-5-2-4-3 (Last word of previous stanza becomes first, etc.) |
| Examples | • Sidney's "Ye Goatherd Gods" • Elizabeth Bishop, "Sestina" • Ezra Pound, "Sestina: Altaforte" |
| Type | Structure | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Pindaric Ode | Three-part structure: • Strophe (turn) • Antistrophe (counter-turn) • Epode (stand) Complex metrical patterns | • Thomas Gray, "The Bard" • Irregular, elevated |
| Horatian Ode | Uniform stanzas Same pattern repeated More meditative, less public | • Marvell, "Horatian Ode upon Cromwell's Return" • Keats's odes (adapted) |
| Irregular Ode | No fixed pattern Varied line lengths, rhyme schemes Freedom within elevated tone | • Wordsworth, "Intimations of Immortality" • Coleridge, "Dejection: An Ode" |
| Form | Structure | Origin/Use |
|---|---|---|
| Haiku | 3 lines: 5-7-5 syllables No rhyme Captures moment, often nature | Japanese; Basho, Buson English: Pound, Imagists |
| Limerick | 5 lines: AABBA Lines 1, 2, 5: anapestic trimeter Lines 3, 4: anapestic dimeter Humorous, often bawdy | English; Edward Lear popularized |
| Clerihew | 4 lines: AABB Biographical, humorous First line = person's name | Invented by Edmund Clerihew Bentley |
| Device | Definition | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Alliteration | Repetition of initial consonant sounds | "Full fathom five thy father lies" |
| Assonance | Repetition of vowel sounds | "Hear the mellow wedding bells" (e sounds) |
| Consonance | Repetition of consonant sounds (anywhere in word) | "pitter patter" (t sounds) |
| Onomatopoeia | Words imitate sounds | buzz, hiss, clang, murmur, splash |
| Euphony | Pleasant, harmonious sounds | "Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness" |
| Cacophony | Harsh, discordant sounds | "And the hoarse rough verse should like the torrent roar" |
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Most common English meter | Iambic pentameter (5 iambs, 10 syllables) |
| Iambic foot pattern | Unstressed-Stressed (˘ ˉ) - "a-LONE" |
| Trochaic foot pattern | Stressed-Unstressed (ˉ ˘) - "TY-ger" |
| Blank verse | Unrhymed iambic pentameter (Shakespeare, Milton) |
| Free verse | No regular meter, no rhyme (Whitman, Eliot) |
| Shakespearean sonnet | 14 lines, ABAB CDCD EFEF GG, 3 quatrains + couplet |
| Petrarchan sonnet | 14 lines, ABBAABBA CDECDE, octave + sestet |
| Spenserian stanza | 9 lines, ABABBCBCC, 8 pentameter + 1 hexameter (Alexandrine) |
| Ballad stanza | 4 lines, ABCB, alternating tetrameter/trimeter |
| Terza rima | Tercets, ABA BCB CDC..., interlocking (Dante, Shelley) |
| Heroic couplet | Rhymed iambic pentameter couplets (AA BB...) - Pope, Dryden |
| Ottava rima | 8 lines, ABABABCC (Byron's Don Juan) |
| Villanelle structure | 19 lines, 5 tercets + 1 quatrain, 2 refrains (Thomas, "Do Not Go Gentle") |
| Sestina structure | 39 lines, 6 stanzas of 6 + envoi of 3, end-word repetition |
| Haiku structure | 3 lines, 5-7-5 syllables, Japanese |
| Masculine vs. Feminine rhyme | Masculine = single syllable (cat/bat); Feminine = 2+ syllables (butter/clutter) |
| Alliteration | Repetition of initial consonant sounds |
| Assonance | Repetition of vowel sounds |