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Meter

Scansion

Scanning a piece of poetry means to go through it line by line describing the type of metrical feet used in each line, and also noting pauses in the line. A pause is called a caesura - a cut in the line, and is indicated with a //.

Look at the following example: 

       |       |     |     |         |  
U   /  | U   / | U  /|U  / | U   / U |
A thing of beau-ty is a joy for e-ver:

        |       |        |         |           |
 U    / | U   U | U   /  | U      /|  U   /  U |
Its love-li-ness in-creas-es; // it will nev-er

       |       |         |            |          |
  /   U| U  /  | U    U  |    U    /  | U    /   |
Pass in-to noth-ing-ness, // but still will keep

     |      |      |          |        |
U  / | U   /| U  U | U      / |U   /   |
A bow-er qui-et for us, // and a sleep

        |           |           |        |              |
 /    U | U      /  |  U     /  |  U    /|U   /     U   |
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and qui-et breath-ing.

              M.H. Abrams "A Glossary of Literary Terms"

Exercise

Name the metrical feet in each line of this passage. Note, when an iamb has an extra weak stress at the end it is called an iamb with a feminine ending. Standard iambs are said to have masculine endings.

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