Meter
The regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables that gives a poem its rhythm.
Meter organizes a line into repeating units of beats, measured in feet, producing an underlying pulse. Writers use it to shape mood, control pace, and create expectations that can be satisfied or broken for emphasis. Departures from a set meter often mark moments of tension or feeling.
Example
The poem’s steady five-beat lines give it a measured, musical flow that carries the argument about beauty and time.
Sonnet 18 · William Shakespeare