Some Definitions:

Alexandrine: An iambic line of twelve syllables, or six feet, usually with a caesura after the sixth syllable. It is the standard line in French poetry, comparable to the iambic pentameter line in English poetry. It probably received its name from an old French romance, Alexandre le Grand, written about 1180, in which the measure was first used. Sidelight: The last line of the Spenserian stanza is an Alexandrine.

metrical foot :a group of 2 or 3 syllables forming the basic unit of poetic rhythm

Iamb: A metrical foot of two syllables, one short (or unstressed) and one long (or stressed). There are four iambs in the line "Come live/ with me/ and be/ my love," from a poem by Christopher Marlowe.The iamb is the reverse of the trochee.

trochee: A foot in with one accented syllable followed by one unaccented syllable. It is the opposite of the iambic foot.


heptameter: A line of poetry that has seven metrical feet.

pentameter:A line of poetry that has five metrical feet.


Regards,


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