ABSTRACT
This is an example of metrical verse. It is verse because it is divided into lines. It is specifically metrical verse because each line belongs to a ‘metre’ (here iambic tetrameter, or iambic trimeter), which partially controls how many syllables there are in the line and what the rhythm of the line is. In order to understand English metre, it is first necessary to understand the two aspects of English words that are controlled by metres: syllables, and relative stress on syllables.
