Can someone please help me figure out the Meter

She rose /to His Require/ment—dropt
The Playthings/ of Her Life
To take /the honor/able Work
Of Woman/, and of Wife—

If ought/ She missed /in Her new Day,
Of Amplitude,/ or Awe—
Or first /Prospective/—Or the Gold
In using,/ wear away,

It lay/ unmentioned—as the Sea
Develop Pearl/, and Weed,
But only/ to Himself/—be known
The Fathoms /they abide—

is this correct? the first stanza and second stanza, first and third lines are iambic trimeter while second and first are iambic dimeter,
thirst stanza is 1 and 2 are iambic dimeter while three is iambic trimeter and 4 is iambic dimeter?
is this correct? i am so confused PLEASE HELP.
thank you!

How many syllables do you count in each line? Is the number constant? Does it vary? Do a little work first please before asking someone else to feed you the answer. Education is about learning after all. Try and analyse the meter yourself. You might find that you actually can!

Ask yourself-- if you were animating this with one of those little bouncing balls, where would you put the bounces in?

It's hokey, of course, and too rigid to allow for nuance or subtle changes in tempo, but it's a good way to start. Especially if you tend to be a more visually-oriented person.

She rose /to His Require/ment—dropt
The Playthings/ of Her Life
To take /the honor/able Work
Of Woman/, and of Wife—

If ought/ She missed /in Her new Day,
Of Amplitude,/ or Awe—
Or first /Prospective/—Or the Gold
In using,/ wear away,

It lay/ unmentioned—as the Sea
Develop Pearl/, and Weed,
But only/ to Himself/—be known
The Fathoms /they abide—

is this correct? the first stanza and second stanza, first and third lines are iambic trimeter while second and first are iambic dimeter,
thirst stanza is 1 and 2 are iambic dimeter while three is iambic trimeter and 4 is iambic dimeter?
is this correct? i am so confused PLEASE HELP.

Big clue, it's not that complex. Think more about how the words sound when you read them, not how they look on the page.

Read it out loud and feel the rhythm.

I think it would be a good idea to find out the syllable number in each line first, like XC originally suggested.

OK i understand what you are saying but all i am asking is if i am correct, i have a hard time interpreting meter and when you say stuff like "feel the rhymth" yes i know, but am i correct? thats all i am wondering... i am so confused because i am not even from america so i have a hard time with the language stuff.
thank you

Quote:

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Originally Posted by malinkakalinka

OK i understand what you are saying but all i am asking is if i am correct, i have a hard time interpreting meter and when you say stuff like "feel the rhymth" yes i know, but am i correct? thats all i am wondering... i am so confused because i am not even from america so i have a hard time with the language stuff.
thank you

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No, you are not correct. You cram too many syllables together. Say it aloud slowly and listen to the way it sounds - da-DA da_DA da-DA da-DA, etc. then count up the DA's.

The meter is the same in each couplet. It shouldn't be too hard.

She rose /to His/Require/ment—dropt
The Play/things of Her/Life
To take /the ho/norable Work
Of Wo/man, and of Wife—

If ought/ She missed /in Her/new Day,
Of Am/plitude, or Awe—
Or first /Prospec/tive—Or the Gold
In u/sing, wear/away,

It lay/ unmen/tioned—as the Sea
Deve/lop Pearl/, and Weed,
But on/ly to Him/self—be known
The Fa/thoms they/abide—

the syllables marked in red are known as pyrrhic here. overall, this poem was written in iambic trimeter-just my observation, and i hope that helps. according to your analysis, you confused words and syllables. you should do your job on the basis of syllables.

I don't agree with you at all White Camelia. There are no pyrrhic syllables. It is not written in iambic trimeter. You are forcing the facts to suit your theory.

I don't want to do the kid's work for them, so I won't blab it all. But malinkakalinka had better not hand in your explanation for homework.

Xamonas Chegwe said that the meter is the same in each couplet. That is correct but not within the couplet - there are two meters alternating. There, I've nearly done it for you.

Poor malinkakalinka! No one ever gave an answer other than, "just feel it". In case anyone is still interested, the poem is written in the so-called ballad meter.

She rose | to his | require | ment, dropped
The play | things of | her life
To take | the hon | orab | le work
Of wo | man and | of wife.

(bold for stress, feet marked off by |)