Look out for differences in the metre of different lines. As seen in the scansion above, that line of iambic pentameter has only three stresses, and each stress is like a small explosion. It ends in a bang with the word 'drowned', but that word would have less force if it were not preceded by three unstressed syllables. Scansion is one way of approaching a poem and gives people a common language. The sixth line of the poem is so powerful precisely for that reason. A line of iambic pentameter has five feet (five units) of iambs in it. E.g.: ‘If mus/ic be/the food/of love/play on’ (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) BUT REMEMBER(!): A poem’s metre may not be the same on every line (it would be very boring if it were!). Scanning a line of poetry to determine its foot and meter is called scansion. The most commonly known rhythm and metre is iambic pentameter. E.g.: Linda Find the Table Why do So a line of trochaic poetry might look like this: How do farmers know the cows are dirty (The rhythm in each line sounds like tum-te/ tum-te/ tum-te/ tum-te/ tum-te ) When you have worked out the rhythm and the metre of a poem, you stick them together. It is a stressed beat followed by an unstressed beat. E.g.: I think The car A goat Le anne So a line of iambic poetry might look like this: A dog went to the park to see his friend (The rhythm in each line sounds like te- tum/ te- tum/ te- tum/ te- tum/ te- tum ) A trochee is the exact opposite. Iambs and Trochees. An iamb is an unstressed beat followed by a stressed beat. There are 2 main types to learn at A-Level. To work out the rhythm of a line of poetry, you look at each ‘foot’ and see what kind of rhythm it uses. If it is made up of five feet, it is written in pentameter. For example, if the line is made up of four feet, it is written in tetrameter. To work out the metre of a line, you count the number of feet in that line. A line of poetry is made of units of rhythm.
You don’t have to talk about it, but it can make you aware of hidden meanings in a poem and can help you access the higher grade boundaries. Scansion is the analysis of a poem’s rhythm and metre.