What is the basic rhythmic structure of the lines or verse in poetry?

• A. Cadence
• B. Rhythm
• C. Meter
• D. Tempo

Answer: (C)

Meter is the basic rhythmic structure of lines in poetry. It’s the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in each line, grouped into feet, that gives poems their regular beat. Over many lines, this pattern repeats, creating a recognizable rhythm. You might hear iambs (unstressed then stressed) or trochees (stressed then unstressed), and when a line has five iambs, that’s often called iambic pentameter. Rhythm is the overall beat of the poem and can be irregular; cadence is how the voice rises and falls when read aloud, especially at line or phrase endings; tempo is how fast or slow you read the poem. The fixed, repeating beat pattern of a poem’s lines is meter.