Which term is used to describe the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry?

• A. Alliteration
• B. Enjambment
• C. Meter
• D. Prosody

Answer: (C)

Meter is the pattern that names how syllables in poetry rise and fall in stress. It describes the rhythmic backbone of a line, usually organized into feet such as iambs (unstressed followed by stressed) or trochees (stressed followed by unstressed). This regular sequence creates the poem’s cadence, and when a poem sticks to a specific pattern—like five iambs per line in iambic pentameter—the rhythm becomes a defining characteristic of the verse. Prosody is the broader study of rhythm, sound, and intonation in poetry, which includes meter, but the direct label for the stressed/unstressed pattern itself is meter. Alliteration focuses on repeated consonant sounds, and enjambment refers to continuing a sentence across line breaks.