Iambic tetrameter



Iambic tetrameter is a meter in poetry. It refers to a line consisting of four iambic feet. The word "tetrameter" means that there are four feet in the line; iambic gives the type of foot (two syllables, one unstressed followed by one stressed). Some poetic forms rely upon iambic tetrameter: the [[triolet, Onegin stanza, Memoriam stanza, originally the villanelle, and long measure (or long meter) ballad stanza.

Quantitative verse
The term originally applied to the quantitative meter of Classical Greek poetry, in which an iamb consisted of a short syllable followed by a long syllable. See syllable weight.

Accentual-syllabic verse
The term was adopted to describe the equivalent meter in accentual-syllabic verse, as composed in English, German, Russian, and other languages. Here, iamb refers to an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. A line of iambic tetrameter consists of four such feet in a row: See the article on iambic pentameter for a more detailed presentation of the basic rhythm of iambic lines. Here is an English example of iambic tetrameter: Come LIVE / with ME / and BE / my LOVE. (Christopher Marlowe, "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love") Here is a German example: Dies BILD/nis IST / bezAUB/ernd SCHÅŽN. (Emanuel Schikaneder, libretto to The Magic Flute)