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In addition, meter allows writers to work within clearly defined structural elements when composing poetry as a means of providing cadence to the literary piece. This literary device allows readers to understand and feel rhythm in relation to words and lines in poetic works, just as it would with notes in a line of music, providing melodic undertones to poetic compositions. Here are some ways that writers, and especially poets, benefit from incorporating meter into their work: Creates Poetic Structure Rather than the stress on syllables, it is their length or duration that is important. For example, a spondee may follow a dactyl in order to facilitate meter in a line of poetry. This allows for combinations of meter that still create flow for the reader.
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#Element definition and example free
Instead, poets of free verse focus on natural rhythm and pacing. In this case, meter is not emphasized to give the verse poetic structure. This is especially true for poets that write free verse. Instead, the purpose of rhythm is to create natural patterns and flow of words that enhance a poetic work’s tone and content. Unlike meter, rhythm is less about a steady and measured beat of syllables. However, its purpose is to set steady timing in poetic lines with metrical feet, just as a time signature and metronome might set steady timing in a musical work. It can enhance the rhythmic quality of poetic writing.
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Meter is considered a more formal writing tool, particularly as it applies to poetry. Meter is a literary device that creates a measured beat, often in a work of poetry, that is established by patterns of stressed and unstressed syllables. Rhythm can be applied to poetry, free verse, or prose. Rhythm is a literary device that sets the overall tempo or pace of a literary work. However, as literary devices, they are different. Many people use the meter and rhythm of the words interchangeably due to their similarities. Examples of Meter in Well-Known Words and Phrases Therefore, the term Iambic Pentameter signifies that a poetic line contains five repetitions of iamb, or a unstressed syllable / stressed syllable pattern repeated five times, as illustrated in the sonnet lines above. The length of a poetic meter is labeled with Greek suffixes: The repetition of metrical feet in a line of poetry creates poetic meter, like beats in music.
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