Which term describes the regular arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables in a poem?

Which term describes the regular arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables in a poem?

• A. End rhyme
• B. Meter
• C. Rhyme scheme
• D. Stanza

Answer: (B)

Meter names the regular arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables that gives a poem its rhythm. This pattern is the poem’s rhythm in action, the beat you feel when reading aloud. For example, iambic meter shifts between an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one, often repeating across a line, producing a steady cadence. This focus on patterning of sound distinguishes meter from other features: end rhyme is about rhyming sounds at line endings, rhyme scheme tracks that rhyming pattern across lines, and a stanza is simply a grouped block of lines. So the term that best describes the rhythmic, patterned flow of stressed versus unstressed syllables is meter.

Meter names the regular arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables that gives a poem its rhythm. This pattern is the poem’s rhythm in action, the beat you feel when reading aloud. For example, iambic meter shifts between an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one, often repeating across a line, producing a steady cadence. This focus on patterning of sound distinguishes meter from other features: end rhyme is about rhyming sounds at line endings, rhyme scheme tracks that rhyming pattern across lines, and a stanza is simply a grouped block of lines. So the term that best describes the rhythmic, patterned flow of stressed versus unstressed syllables is meter.