What is rhythm?

When we speak, we tend to emphasize some parts of words more than other parts. We are putting more energy into making some syllables. Rhythm refers to the pattern of stressed syllables and unstressed syllables, and it is sometimes referred to as “meter”. Dictionaries are valuable tools when reading poetry. In addition to revealing the meanings of new words, dictionaries can be used to discover how words are broken into syllables, how the syllables are stressed, and how words are pronounced. Dictionaries use marks called accents to indicate stressed and unstressed syllables.

These marks are placed over each syllable of a word. Stressed syllables are indicated by a “/”, while unstressed syllables are indicated by a “u”. Patterns of stressed syllables and unstressed syllables are separated by “|”. One pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables is called a foot. Look at the table below to learn the names of common stress patterns.