The analysis of a poem's meter This is usually done by marking the stressed and unstressed syllables in each line and then, based on the pattern of the stresses, dividing the line into feet
The act of scanning; distinguishing the metrical feet of a verse by emphasis, pauses, or otherwise
The analysis of line rhythms performed by scanning the lines to determine their metrical categorization, e g , iambic trimeter, etc , as a way of describing the rhythmical quality of a poem Scansion will also show the variations in the meter and the deviations from it, if there are any Sidelight: Scansion accounts for syllabic accents, but does not differentiate between the relative "weights" of stress, one of the means by which a skillful poet modulates the rhythm for effect Sidelight: Individual judgements often play a part in the scansion process, since the divisions between feet may be subject to differences of interpretation
the process of analysing poetry to determine the metre and number of feet per line Each combination of stressed and unstressed syllables has a special term (see table below) Also, there are terms describing the number of feet (syllables) per line, also shown below
The systematic analysis of metrical patterns of stress, syllable by syllable, sound unit by sound unit
The study of verse for patterns of accented and unaccented syllables; also known as "metrics "