Anapestic tetrameter is a poetic

meter The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its pref ...

that has four anapestic metrical feet per line. Each foot has two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable. It is sometimes referred to as a "reverse

dactyl Dactyl may refer to: * Dactyl (mythology), a legendary being * Dactyl (poetry), a metrical unit of verse * Dactyl Foundation, an arts organization * Finger, a part of the hand * Dactylus, part of a decapod crustacean * "-dactyl", a suffix u ...

", and shares the rapid, driving pace of the dactyl.

Description and uses

Anapestic tetrameter is a rhythm well suited for comic verse, and prominent examples include

Clement Clarke Moore Clement Clarke Moore (July 15, 1779 – July 10, 1863) was an American writer, scholar and real estate developer. He is best known as author of the Christmas poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas." Moore was Professor of Oriental and Greek Literature ...

's " A Visit from St. Nicholas" and the majority of Dr. Seuss's poems. When used in comic form, anapestic tetrameter is often highly regular, as the regularity emphasizes the breezy, melodic feel of the meter, though the initial unstressed beat of a line may often be omitted.

Non comic usage

The verse form is not solely comic.

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...

The Destruction of Sennacherib "The Destruction of Sennacherib" is a poem by Lord Byron first published in 1815 in his '' Hebrew Melodies'' (in which it was titled The Destruction of Semnacherib). The poem is based on the biblical account of the historical Assyrian siege of ...

is in anapestic tetrameter.

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing Hip hop music, hip hop in Middle America (United Sta ...

's hit song " The Way I Am" uses the meter for all parts of the song except the chorus. In non-comic works, it is likely that anapestic tetrameter will be used in a less regular manner, with

caesura 300px, An example of a caesura in modern western music notation A caesura (, . caesuras or caesurae; Latin for " cutting"), also written cæsura and cesura, is a metrical pause or break in a verse where one phrase ends and another phrase begin ...

s and other meters breaking up the driving regularity of the beat such as in the case of

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...

's Annabel Lee. Anapestic tetrameter is generally used in the Parode (entrance ode) of Classical Greek Tragedy.

Example

An anapestic foot is two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable. The rhythm could be written like this: A line of anapestic tetrameter is four of these in a row: One can

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this with a 'x' mark representing an unstressed syllable and a '/' mark representing a stressed syllable. In this notation a line of anapestic tetrameter would look like this: The following lines from Dr. Seuss' ''

Yertle the Turtle ''Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories'' is a picture book collection by Theodor Seuss Geisel, published under his more commonly known pseudonym of Dr. Seuss. It was first released by Random House Books on April 12, 1958, and is written in Seu ...

'' are examples, showing a complete line of anapestic tetrameter followed by a line with the first unstressed syllable omitted. This common technique is called an iambic substitution. :"And today the Great Yertle, that marvelous he :Is King of the Mud. That is all he can see." The

scansion Scansion ( , rhymes with ''mansion''; verb: ''to scan''), or a system of scansion, is the method or practice of determining and (usually) graphically representing the metrical pattern of a line of verse. In classical poetry, these patterns are ...

of this can be notated as follows:

In Polish

Anapestic tetrameter was introduced into Polish literature by

Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (; 24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. A principal figure in Polish Ro ...

. As Polish language lacks masculine endings, anapestic tetrameter is usually a fourteener (7+7) with feminine endings at both half-lines: ssSssSs, , ssSssSs.Wiktor Jarosław Darasz, Mały przewodnik po wierszu polskim, Kraków 2003, pp. 71, 95-96. Mickiewicz probably took it from

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy ...

's ''The Eve of Saint John''. In the 20th century the form was used by

Bruno Jasieński Bruno Jasieński , born Wiktor Bruno Zysman (17 July 1901 – 17 September 1938), was a Polish poet, novelist, playwright, Catastrophist, and leader of the Polish Futurist movement in the interwar period.Dr Feliks TomaszewskiBruno Jasieński. Biog ...

and

Julian Tuwim Julian Tuwim (13 September 1894 – 27 December 1953), known also under the pseudonym "Oldlen" as a lyricist, was a Polish poet, born in Łódź, then part of the Russian Partition. He was educated in Łódź and in Warsaw where he studied law ...

. Anapestic tetrameter with masculine ending (ssSssSssSssS) is rare. In Jasieński's ''But w butonierce'' lines are shaped according to the pattern ssSssSs, , ssSssSs or ssSssSs, , ssSssS. :''Zmarnowałem podeszwy w całodziennych spieszeniach,'' :''Teraz jestem słoneczny, siebiepewny i rad.'' :''Idę młody, genialny, trzymam ręce w kieszeniach,'' :''Stawiam kroki milowe, zamaszyste, jak świat.''

References

{{reflist Types of verses