Metrikanalys

Metrikanalys is the systematic study of the metrical structure of poetry, focusing on how rhythms emerge from patterns of stressed and unstressed syllables, the arrangement of feet, and the overall cadence of a verse. In practice, analysts perform scansion, marking the stressed syllables and dividing lines into metrical units to identify the poem’s meter and its variations. The goal is to classify the verse as, for example, iambic or trochaic, and to determine the line length, such as pentameter or tetrameter.

The field recognizes several metrical systems. Accentual meter emphasizes the number of stressed syllables per line, while syllabic meter counts syllables without regard to stress. Accentual-syllabic meter combines both approaches and is common in many Western languages. Common feet include the iamb (unstressed-stressed), the trochee (stressed-unstressed), the anapest (unstressed-unstressed-stressed), the dactyl (stressed-unstressed-unstressed), and the spondee (two stressed syllables). Metrikanalys also attends to substitutions, feminine or masculine endings, caesuras, and other variations that create rhythmic flexibility within a metrical frame.

Metrikanalys applies across languages, with English reliance on stress patterns, while classical languages often emphasize quantity (long vs. short syllables). It is useful for analyzing fixed poetic forms such as sonnets, ballads, or villanelles, as well as freer verse where meter is less regular. The analysis aids literary interpretation, informs poetic practice, and, in modern contexts, supports performance and computational studies of rhythm.

See also: prosody, scansion, meter, metrical foot, iamb, trochee.