Elements of

Poetry
• Rhythm
• Horizontal
Measures
Joseph R. Ponayo |
BSED - English
 Introduction
Poetry is a form of literary
expression characterized by
its use of language to evoke
emotions, create vivid
imagery, and convey
complex ideas through
Rhythm
It refers to the regular
succession of accented and
unaccented syllables in a
line; associated with the
metrical feet, it may be
• Lamb - A two-syllable foot which is accented on the second
syllable, as in William Shakespear’s line “When in/ disgrace /
with For/tune and / men’s eyes”

• Anapest/ Antidatylus - A three-syllably foot which is accented

on the third syllable, as in the lines of George Gordon Byron’s
“The Destruction of Sennacherib” “The Assyri/an came down
/like a wolf / on the fold And his co/horts were gleam/ing in
pur/ple and gold And the sheen/ of their spears / was like stars /
on the sea When the blue / wave rolls night/ly on deep/ Galilee.”
• Trochee/ Choree/ Choreus - A two-syllable foot which
is accented on the first syllable, as in the lines of Henry
Wadsworth Longfellow’s “the Song of Hilawatha”
“Should you ask me, whence these stories? Whence
these legends and traditions, With the odours of the
forest With the dew and damp of meadows”

• Dactyl - A three-syllable foot which is accented on the

first syllable, as in the lines of Robert Browning’s “The
Lost Leader” “Just for a handful of silver he left us Just
for a riband to stick in his coat”
• Spondee - A two-syllable foot which is accented on
both syllables, as in the lines of G.K. Chesterton’s
“Lepanto” “White founts falling in the courts of the
sun And the Soldan of Byzantium is smiling as they
run."

• Pyrrhus/ Pyrrhic/Dibrach - A two-syllable foot

which is unaccented on both syllables, as in the lines
of Alfred Lord Tennyson’s “In Memoriam” “Be near
me when my light is low, When the blood creeps and
the nerves prick And tingle; and the heart is sick, And
all the wheels of Being slow.
• Tribrach - A three-syllable foot which is unaccented on all
syllables.

• Amphibrach - A three-syllable foot which is accented on the

second syllable as in the lines of Leonard Cohen’s “Famous Blue
Raincoat” “It’s four in/ the morning, / the end of / December I’m
writing/ you now just/ to see if/ you’re better New York/ is cold,
but/ like where / I’m living There’s music/ on Clinton/ Street all
through/ the evening.”
• Bacchius - A three-syllable foot which has one
unaccented syllable followed by two accented
ones Antibacchius A three-syllable foot which
has two accented syllables followed by one
unaccented one

• Amphimacer/Cretic - A three-syllable foot

which has an unaccented syllable between two
accented ones, as in the line of William
Shakespeare’s song “Shall I die? Shall I fly?”
• Molossus - A three-syllable foot which consists of
three accented syllables, as in the lines of W. S.
Gilbert’s “To sit in Solemn Silence” “To sit in
solemn silence in a dull dark dock, In a pestilential
prison, with a life-long lock, Awaiting the sensation
of a short, sharp, shock, From a cheap and chippy
chopper on a big black block’!”
 HORIZONT
AL
MEASURE
refers to the number of
syllables or metrical
feet within a line. A
metrical foot is also
• Monosyllabic - A line which has one syllable, such as
the last line in a nonet or the first line in an etheree

• Disyllabic - A line which has two syllables, such as the

penultimate line in a nonet or the second line in an
etheree

• Trisyllabic - A line which has three syllables, such as

the lines of the translated version of “Indarapatra and
Sulayman” “O Hinagud! O great spear Of hardened,
Holy wood”
• Tetrasyllabic - A line which has four syllables, such as the lines
of a Tagalog riddle “Hindi Tao, Hindi hayop; Buto’t balat,
Lumilipad.”

• Pentasyllabic - A line which has five syllables, such as the lines

of “Tubad-tubad” translated by Abdullah Madali “Why shouldn’t
I say That the parrot’s mine When only of in flight Can I not trap
it?”

• Hexasyllabic - A line which has six syllables, such as the lines

of Ramon Escoda’s “Chantey” “Down river, up river Rows the
boatman singing”
• Heptasyllabic - A line which has seven syllables, such
as the lines of a tanaga “Sinilayan ang Langit.// Indak ng
mga tala. Sinilayan ang lupa.// Indak ng alikabok.”

• Octasyllabic - A line which has eight syllables, such as

the lines of Francisco Tonogbanua’s “Hermit’s Chant”
“And loneliness is sharp and sweet, Unleavened bread
for some to eat”

• Nonsyllabic - A line which has nine syllables, such as

the lines of Francisco Tonogbanua’s “Hermits Chant”
“For loneliness is a silver word, An acrid wine, or a
broken chord”
• Decasyllabic - A line which has ten syllables, such as the lines of
Dylan Thomas’ “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” “Old
age should burn and rave at close of day Rage, rage against the
dying of the light.”

• Undecasyllabic - A line which has 11 syllables, such as the lines

of the English translation of “Our Plea” by Marra Lanot and Lilia
Santiago” “Then you must follow her teaching and obey… Only
then can we prove we respect deeply”

• Dodecasyllabic - A line which has 12 syllables, such as the lines

of Francisco Baltazar’s awit “Florante at Laura” “Ito and ngalan ko
mulang pagkabata, Nagisnan sa ama’t inang nag-andukha. Pamagat
na ambil sa lumuluha-luha At kayakap-yakap ng madalang dalita.”
• Monometer - A line which has one foot, such as the lines of
Robert Herrick’s “Upon His Departure Hence” Thus IPasse by
And die: As one, Unknown, And gone:

• Dimeter - A line which has two feet, such as the lines of Alfred
Lord Tennyson’s “The Charge of the Light Brigade” “Half a
League, half a league, Half a league onward”

• Trimeter - A line which has three feet, such as the lines of

William Blake’s “I Love the Jocund Dance” “I love the jocund
dance, The softly breathing song, Where innocent eyes do
glance, And where lisps the maiden’s tongue.”
• Tetrameter - A line which has four feet, as in William
Wordsworth’s “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” “I
wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o’er vales
and hills”

• Pentameter - A line which has five feet, as in William

Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 18” “Shall I compare thee to a
summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more
temperate”

• Hexameter - A line which has six feet, such as the first

line of henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “Evangeline”
“This is the / forest pri/meval.
The / murmuring / pines and the / hemlocks”
• Heptameter - A line which has seven feet, such as the lines
of George Gordon’s Byron’s “Youth and Age” “As springs
in deserts found seem sweet, all brackish though they be, So
midst the wither’d waste of life, those tears would flow to
me!”

• Octameter - A line which has eight feet, such as the lines of

Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” “Once upon a midnight
dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a
quaint and curious volume forgotten lore, While I nodded,
nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,”
Thank you for
listening!