This is the part of the poem that is most elegiac in nature.
This three-part poem that is dedicated to William Butler Yeats makes use of the trochaic pattern in the final section. Vincent Millay.Įxample #3 In Memory of W.B. These facts are benefits by the downward beat of the trochaic pattern.ĭiscover more poetry by Edna St. The images are dark and the mood is oppressive. The speaker’s tone is depressed throughout. Take a look at the second stanza from the poem: This pattern makes perfect sense for the subject matter of the poem. ‘Sorrow’ is a solid example of a trochaic meter. In contrast to the last two arrangements of syllables, the two latter forms depend on the syllables coming in sets of threes.Įxample #2 Sorrow by Edna St. They can be spondaic, dactylic, or anapestic. There are three other common ways in which syllables can be arranged. The first, as stated above, is going to be stressed and the second unstressed.Īnd the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting This means that each line contains four, rather than five, sets of beats. Let’s take a look at the first line from ‘The Raven’ by Edgar Allan Poe which is almost entirely written in trochaic tetrameter. It can be combined, just as the iamb can, with any number of syllables. It is often used to increase the drama of verse, such as in ‘ The Raven’ by Edgar Allan Poe and ‘The Tyger’ by William Blake.Įxamples of Trochaic Meter in Poetry Example #1 The Ravenby Edgar Allan Poe This kind of meter is slower, but with a momentum that leads the reader forward. It is composed of what is known as a “falling rhythm,” this refers to the fact that the stress happens first and then the unstressed beat falls from it. There are several reasons why a poet might choose to utilize trochees. Trochaic Pentameter- meter that consists of five stressed syllables in one line.Often breaking the consistent structure of a trochee. Trochaic Heptamer- meter that consists of seven stressed syllables in one line.Trochaic Trimeter- meter that consists of three sets of two beats, the first of which is stressed and the second unstressed.Trochaic Tetrameter- refers to a meter that consists of four sets of two beats, the first of which is stressed and the second unstressed.Just like with all the metrical patterns, there are numerous ways to arrange trochaic feet. English verse has very few examples of quantitative meter, rather, interested readers should look for examples in Greek and Latin poetry. It is made up of two syllables the first of which takes longer to pronounce than the second. The length, or the time it takes to pronounce the word, means the trochee in quantitative verse is also different. It refers to a pattern of verses that si concerned with the length of syllables rather than the actual stress. this is the most common way in which poems are arranged. The first refers to a type of meter that takes its stresses from the placement of syllables. When trying to understand how writers use trochees, it is also important to touch on the differences between accentual and quantitative verse. It is more difficult to continuously write trochees due to the odd ways in which lines must be arranged to keep the beats in the correct order.Īccentual and Quantitative Verse, and Trochees Over the history of poetry, comparing trochaic poems and iambic poems, the latter is far more consistent. Often darker texts, such as ‘The Raven,’ (see example below), make use of this pattern. For instance, the beats feel mournful in a way that the power iambic feet do not. Iambs are by far the most popular way to structure metrical feet in poetry, but there are benefits to using a trochaic meter. This is in contrast to an iambic meter which has a rising rhythm (the stress comes first followed by the unstressed beat). This refers to the fact that the stress comes first and then it falls off into the unstressed beat.
Trochaic meter is often described as having a “ falling rhythm”. 2 Accentual and Quantitative Verse, and Trocheesĭefinition and Explanation of Trochaic Meter.
1 Definition and Explanation of Trochaic Meter.