Which term would you use to analyze the rhythm of poetry?

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

Answer: (B)

Analyzing rhythm in poetry is done through prosody, the study of the musical aspects of verse, including how lines flow, where stresses fall, and how sounds shape pace and mood. Prosody isn’t just about fixed patterns; it covers meter as one key component and also looks at rhymes, pauses, tempo, and other sound effects that give a poem its rhythmic character.

Meter is the formal pattern of stresses in a line, such as the repeated unstressed-stressed beats in iambic pentameter. It’s a part of prosody, but prosody is the broader framework you use to discuss how rhythm works across an entire poem and how it interacts with meaning.

Alliteration focuses on repeating initial consonant sounds and can influence rhythm, but it’s a specific device rather than the study of rhythm itself. Enjambment concerns running a thought from one line to the next, which affects pacing and emphasis, again a feature within prosody rather than the overarching method of analysis.