Dactylic tetrameter
Encyclopedia
- For the dactylic tetrameter in Greek and Latin poetry, see Alcmanian verseAlcmanian verseAlcmanian verse refers to the dactylic tetrameter in Greek and Latin poetry.-Dactylic tetrameter in Alcman:Ancient metricians called the dactylic tetrameter the Alcmanic because of its use by the Archaic Greek poet Alcman, as in fragment 27 PMG:...
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Dactylic tetrameter is a metre
Meter (poetry)
In poetry, metre is the basic rhythmic structure of a verse or lines in verse. Many traditional verse forms prescribe a specific verse metre, or a certain set of metres alternating in a particular order. The study of metres and forms of versification is known as prosody...
in poetry
Poetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
. It refers to a line consisting of four dactylic
Dactyl (poetry)
A dactyl is a foot in meter in poetry. In quantitative verse, such as Greek or Latin, a dactyl is a long syllable followed by two short syllables, as determined by syllable weight...
feet. "Tetrameter" simply means four poetic feet. Each foot has a stressed syllable
Syllable
A syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds. For example, the word water is composed of two syllables: wa and ter. A syllable is typically made up of a syllable nucleus with optional initial and final margins .Syllables are often considered the phonological "building...
followed by two unstressed syllables, the opposite of an anapest, sometimes called antidactylus to reflect this fact.
Example
A dactylic foot is one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed ones:| DUM | da | da |
A dactylic tetrameter would therefore be:
| DUM | da | da | DUM | da | da | DUM | da | da | DUM | da | da |
Scanning
Systems of scansion
A system of scansion is a way to mark the metrical patterns of a line of poetry. In classical poetry, these patterns are based on the different lengths of each syllable, and in English poetry, they are based on the different levels of stress placed on each syllable. In both cases, the meter often...
this using an "x" to represent an unstressed syllable and a "/" to represent a stressed syllable would make a dactylic tetrameter like the following:
| / | x | x | / | x | x | / | x | x | / | x | x |
The following lines from The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is a song written primarily by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney, for The Beatles' 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band...
" demonstrate this, the scansion being:
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| Pic- | ture | your- | self | in | a | boat | on | a | riv- | er | with |
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| tan- | ger- | ine | tree- | ees | and | marm- | a- | lade | skii- | ii- | es |
Another example, from Browning
Robert Browning
Robert Browning was an English poet and playwright whose mastery of dramatic verse, especially dramatic monologues, made him one of the foremost Victorian poets.-Early years:...
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| Just | for | a | hand- | ful | of | sil- | ver | he | left | us! |
The traditional song Here's A Health To The Company is also in dactylic tetrameter.