Which term is NOT listed as a metrical pattern in the material?

Which term is NOT listed as a metrical pattern in the material?

• A. Hexameter
• B. Iambic
• C. Dactylic
• D. Anapestic

Answer: (A)

Meter in poetry is about the pattern of feet in a line. The terms described here—iambic, dactylic, and anapestic—refer to specific feet: iambic is unstressed followed by stressed, dactylic is stressed followed by two unstressed, and anapestic is two unstressed followed by a stressed. Hexameter, however, tells you how many feet are in a line (six) rather than describing a single foot’s pattern. In the material you’re studying, the focus is on the types of feet themselves, not on line length, so hexameter isn’t listed as a metrical pattern. That’s why hexameter is the term that doesn’t fit with the others.

Meter in poetry is about the pattern of feet in a line. The terms described here—iambic, dactylic, and anapestic—refer to specific feet: iambic is unstressed followed by stressed, dactylic is stressed followed by two unstressed, and anapestic is two unstressed followed by a stressed. Hexameter, however, tells you how many feet are in a line (six) rather than describing a single foot’s pattern. In the material you’re studying, the focus is on the types of feet themselves, not on line length, so hexameter isn’t listed as a metrical pattern. That’s why hexameter is the term that doesn’t fit with the others.