Lyric Poetry - Meters

Meters

Much lyric poetry depends on regular meter based either on number of syllables or on stress. The most common meters are as follows:

  • Iambic - two syllables, with the short or unstressed syllable followed by the long or stressed syllable.
  • Trochaic - two syllables, with the long or stressed syllable followed by the short or unstressed syllable. In English, this metre is found almost entirely in lyric poetry.
  • Pyrrhic - Two unstressed syllables
  • Anapestic - three syllables, with the first two short or unstressed and the last long or stressed.
  • Dactylic - three syllables, with the first one long or stressed and the other two short or unstressed.
  • Spondaic - two syllables, with two successive long or stressed syllables.

Some forms have a combination of meters, often using a different meter for the refrain. ...

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