Historically, Poetry has been written to be read aloud or performed before others. One of the appeals of poems is the rhythm with which it flows off of the tongue onto the ears of the listener. Like the beat of music, poetry can have regular patterns and “beats” within a line. The measurement of the poetic beat of a line is called a meter .

The meter itself is made up of syllables and groups of syllables called feet. We could compare this to the tempo of music. If you were to go to a concert and watch the conductor, you may see him moving his baton up, down, and at times side to side, depending on the tempo and speed of the music that is being performed. Elegantly, he directs the flow of the music by setting the tempo and pace for the musicians. The music may swell and grow into a rapid crescendo, or it may suddenly drop and slow its pace. The conductor sets the tone and orchestrates the music to invoke emotion and images in the listener.

A poet is like a conductor of words. Using a specific foot and meter, the poet will create a lyrical quality to language. The arrangement of the words, along with the use of poetic language devices, creates an attraction to the reader or listener. This is why some poetry is best appreciated when read aloud.

One form of poetry that uses its metrical qualities to formalize it is “Blank Verse”. Blank Verse does not use rhyme, but does use a series of stressed and unstressed syllables in predictable meters. If the stress or emphasis is on the second syllable, it is called an “iambic meter” (Ex: da DUM, da DUM, da DUM). If the emphasis is on the first (ex: DA dum, DA dum, DA dum) it is called a “Trochee” or “trochaic meter”.

In the following poem, Emily Dickenson (1830-1886) demonstrates blank verse, as she does not use rhyme, but she uses iambic meter. She engages the lyrical qualities of her poem by using carefully placed commas for a pause. This is like the conductor indicating where to hold a note for an extra beat with his baton. If you read the poem aloud, you will be able to hear the rhythmic, musical quality to the poem- its meter.

THEY say that “time assuages”,—
Time never did assuage;
An actual suffering strengthens,
As sinews do, with age.
Time is a test of trouble,
But not a remedy.
If such it prove, it prove too
There was no malady.