I grew tired of having to visit different websites to find various metrical feet. So I’m making this page so they are all in one spot.
I have listed some feet that have either have no stressed syllable or unstressed syllable. Except for pyrrhic and spondee, I think a foot should have one of both, but the history of poetics includes them, so I will too.
I’ll use conventional notation:
/=stressed syllable
u=unstressed syllable
Duple Feet
Notation | Name and Notes |
u / | Iamb. The most common foot in English. |
/ u | Trochee. |
u u | Pyrrhic. Can be used as an iamb substitute. Often called a double-iamb because it is usually followed by two stresses. However, some say “double-iamb” should be reserved for back-to-back iambs. See “ionic minor” and “diamb” below. |
/ / | Spondee. A powerful foot. |
Triple Feet
Notation | Name and Notes |
u u / | Anapest. Can be used as an iamb substitute. |
/ u u | Dactyl. |
u / u | Amphibrach. |
/ u / | Amphimacer or cretic. Sometimes referred to as “paeon diagyios.” Can be used as a substitute in anapestic verse. |
u / / | Bacchius. Can be used as a substitute in anapestic verse. |
/ / u | Antibacchius |
u u u | Tribrach. Has no stressed syllable, but is still considered a foot. |
/ / / | Molossos. Has no unstressed syllable, but is still considered a foot. |
Quadruple Feet
Notation | Name and Notes |
/ u u u | First paeon. |
u / u u | Second paeon. |
u u / u | Third paeon. |
u u u / | Fourth paeon. |
u / / / | First epitrite. |
/ u / / | Second epitrite. |
/ / u / | Third epitrite. |
/ / / u | Fourth epitrite. |
u u / / | Ionic minor or ionic a minore or double iamb. Can be used as replacement for two iambic feet. See “pryyhic” above. |
/ / u u | Ionic major or ionic a majore or double trochee. |
u / u / | Diamb. Though I think it is better labelled as “double iamb,” as it is back-to-back iambs. |
u / / u | Antispast. An iamb followed by a trochee. |
/ u u / | Choriamb. A trochee followed by an iamb. |
u u u u | Proceleus maticus or proceleusmaticus or tetrabrach. Has no stressed syllable, but it is still considered a foot. |
/ / / / | Dispondee. Has no unstressed syllable, but is still considered a foot. |
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Thanks for this post. It is nice to have everything on a single page. I will send this link to emergent poets when the need arises. Thanks again. Dave
Terrific! Thanks, Dave. :^)>