I have been rewriting the section on the "Foot" on PPP's article on "meter". The earlier one came from Wikipedia. I think this new wording explains the concept in a way that's easier to follow, and is also more comprehensive. I'd like to put it up here
for criticism.

"In most Western poetic traditions, the meter of a verse is described as a sequence or pattern of regularly occurring feet. A "foot" is a series of syllables, of which at least 1 is accented or stressed (pronounced more emphatically).

There can in theory be a large variety of feet (see table on right). However, in order to scan most English verse, or to write your own, you need to know only 5 of them. In English prosody, a foot has either 2 or 3 syllables, of which 1 and only 1 is
normally stressed or accented.

2-syllable feet (disyllables) have either of 2 meters, as the stress or "accent" can be on either the 1st or the 2nd syllable.

1. Trochaic (the noun is "trochee"): the accent is on the 1st syllable, as in the opening line of Blake's "Introduction" to Songs of Innocence:
PIPing / DOWN the / VALleys / WILD

2. Iambic (the noun is "iamb"): the accent is on the 2nd syllable, as in line 23 from Shelley's "Stanzas Written in Dejection, Near Naples":
And WALKED / with IN/ward GLOR/y CROWNED.

3-syllable feet (trisyllables) have 1 of 3 meters, as the accent can be on either the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd syllable.

3.Dactylic (the noun is "dactyl"): the accent is on the 1st syllable, as in "The Voice" by Thomas Hardy:
WOman much / MISSED how you / CALL to me / CALL to me

4.Amphibrachic (the noun is "amphibrach"): the accent is on the 2nd syllable, as in the limerick "There once was a man from Nantucket":
There ONCE was / a MAN from / NanTUCKet

5.Anapestic (the noun is "anapest"): the accent is on the 3rd syllable, as in the opening to Byron's "The Destruction of Sennacherib" by Lord Byron:
The AssYR / ian came DOWN / like the WOLF / in the FOLD

Tetrasyllabic (4-syllable) feet do not play much of a role in English prosody, but 2 need to be noted. The 1 is the choriamb, consisting of a trochee followed by an iamb (DUM-da-da-DUM). The other is the double iamb, equivalent to a pyrrhus followed by a
spondee (da-da-DUM-DUM). Either can be substituted for 2 iambic feet, under certain conditions.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Wednesday, May 19, 2021 at 1:34:54 PM UTC-3, George J. Dance wrote:

I have been rewriting the section on the "Foot" on PPP's article on "meter". The earlier one came from Wikipedia. I think this new wording explains the concept in a way that's easier to follow, and is also more comprehensive. I'd like to put it up here

for criticism.

"In most Western poetic traditions, the meter of a verse is described as a sequence or pattern of regularly occurring feet. A "foot" is a series of syllables, of which at least 1 is accented or stressed (pronounced more emphatically).

There can in theory be a large variety of feet (see table on right). However, in order to scan most English verse, or to write your own, you need to know only 5 of them. In English prosody, a foot has either 2 or 3 syllables, of which 1 and only 1 is

normally stressed or accented.

2-syllable feet (disyllables) have either of 2 meters, as the stress or "accent" can be on either the 1st or the 2nd syllable.

1. Trochaic (the noun is "trochee"): the accent is on the 1st syllable, as in the opening line of Blake's "Introduction" to Songs of Innocence:
PIPing / DOWN the / VALleys / WILD

2. Iambic (the noun is "iamb"): the accent is on the 2nd syllable, as in line 23 from Shelley's "Stanzas Written in Dejection, Near Naples":
And WALKED / with IN/ward GLOR/y CROWNED.

3-syllable feet (trisyllables) have 1 of 3 meters, as the accent can be on either the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd syllable.

3.Dactylic (the noun is "dactyl"): the accent is on the 1st syllable, as in "The Voice" by Thomas Hardy:
WOman much / MISSED how you / CALL to me / CALL to me

4.Amphibrachic (the noun is "amphibrach"): the accent is on the 2nd syllable, as in the limerick "There once was a man from Nantucket":
There ONCE was / a MAN from / NanTUCKet

5.Anapestic (the noun is "anapest"): the accent is on the 3rd syllable, as in the opening to Byron's "The Destruction of Sennacherib" by Lord Byron:
The AssYR / ian came DOWN / like the WOLF / in the FOLD

Tetrasyllabic (4-syllable) feet do not play much of a role in English prosody, but 2 need to be noted. The 1 is the choriamb, consisting of a trochee followed by an iamb (DUM-da-da-DUM). The other is the double iamb, equivalent to a pyrrhus followed by

a spondee (da-da-DUM-DUM). Either can be substituted for 2 iambic feet, under certain conditions.

Good read G.D.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)