Iambic tetrameter


Iambic tetrameter is a meter in poetry. It refers to a line consisting of four iambic feet. The word "tetrameter" simply means that there are four feet in the line; iambic tetrameter is a line comprising four iambs.


Some poetic forms rely upon iambic tetrameter: triolet, Onegin stanza, In Memoriam stanza, long measure (or long meter) ballad stanza.




Contents





  • 1 Quantitative verse


  • 2 Accentual-syllabic verse


  • 3 Examples

    • 3.1 English


    • 3.2 German


    • 3.3 Hebrew



  • 4 See also


  • 5 Notes




Quantitative verse


The term originally applied to the quantitative meter of Classical Greek poetry, in which an iamb consisted of a short syllable followed by a long syllable.



Accentual-syllabic verse


The term was adopted to describe the equivalent meter in accentual-syllabic verse, as composed in English, German, Russian, and other languages. Here, iamb refers to an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. A line of iambic tetrameter consists of four such feet in a row:


da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM


Examples



English


 × / × / × / × /
Come live with me and be my love

(Christopher Marlowe, "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love")



German


 × / × / × / × /
Dies Bildnis ist bezaubernd schön[1]

(Emanuel Schikaneder, libretto to The Magic Flute)



Hebrew


× / × / × / × /
Adon Olam Asher Malach[2]

(the opening line of Adon Olam, a traditional hymn of anonymous authorship from the Jewish liturgy.)



See also


  • Syllable weight

  • Iambic pentameter


Notes



  1. ^ "This image is enchantingly lovely". See Dies Bildnis ist bezaubernd schön.


  2. ^ "Master of the world who reigns". See Adon Olam.









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