tetrameter etymology

Etymology:

  • Greek tetra- "four" + metron "measure"

Meaning:

A line of verse consisting of four metrical feet, or the measure of such a line.

Origin:

The term "tetrameter" comes directly from the Greek words tetra- and metron. It has been used in English since the 16th century to describe various types of poetic lines with four metrical feet. The most common type of tetrameter is iambic tetrameter, which consists of four iambs (two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable). Other types of tetrameter include trochaic tetrameter, spondaic tetrameter, and anapestic tetrameter.

Usage:

The term "tetrameter" is used in the following contexts:

  • Poetry: To describe a line of verse with four metrical feet.
  • Prosody: To classify different types of metrical lines based on the number of feet they contain.
  • Literary criticism: To analyze the use of tetrameter in specific poems or plays.

Examples:

  • "The curfew tolls the knell of parting day" (iambic tetrameter from Thomas Gray's "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard")
  • "Double, double, toil and trouble" (trochaic tetrameter from Shakespeare's "Macbeth")
  • "This is the forest primeval. The murmuring pines and the hemlocks" (spondaic tetrameter from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "Evangeline")

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