Dactylic meter is defined as what pattern?

Dactylic meter is defined as what pattern?

• A. One stressed syllable followed by two unstressed ones
• B. Unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable
• C. Stressed syllable followed by unstressed syllables
• D. Unstressed syllable followed by two stressed syllables

Answer: (A)

Dactylic meter describes a metrical foot that has one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables. That means when you hear the rhythm, the emphasis lands on the first syllable, and the next two syllables are lighter in sound. A simple way to feel this is with the word merrily: MER-ri-ly, where the strong beat falls on MER and the following syllables are less prominent. In poetry, lines built from this foot create a rolling, falling rhythm because the single strong beat is followed by two weaker ones. This pattern contrasts with iambic (unstressed followed by stressed) or trochaic (stressed followed by unstressed) feet, which helps explain why the described pattern—one stressed syllable then two unstressed—is the correct choice.

Dactylic meter describes a metrical foot that has one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables. That means when you hear the rhythm, the emphasis lands on the first syllable, and the next two syllables are lighter in sound. A simple way to feel this is with the word merrily: MER-ri-ly, where the strong beat falls on MER and the following syllables are less prominent. In poetry, lines built from this foot create a rolling, falling rhythm because the single strong beat is followed by two weaker ones. This pattern contrasts with iambic (unstressed followed by stressed) or trochaic (stressed followed by unstressed) feet, which helps explain why the described pattern—one stressed syllable then two unstressed—is the correct choice.