Which term denotes a line of verse with three metrical feet?

Which term denotes a line of verse with three metrical feet?

• A. Trimeter
• B. Hexameter
• C. Dimeter
• D. Monometer

Answer: (A)

Three metrical feet in a line is called trimeter. In poetry, a foot is a unit of rhythm, and counting how many feet are in a line tells you its meter. The prefix tri- means three, and -meter signals the measured line. So a line with three feet—whether iambic, trochaic, or another pattern—fits the term trimeter. For example, an iambic trimeter would have three iambic feet: unstressed-stressed, unstressed-stressed, unstressed-stressed (da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM). By contrast, one foot is monometer, two feet dimeter, and six feet hexameter.

Three metrical feet in a line is called trimeter. In poetry, a foot is a unit of rhythm, and counting how many feet are in a line tells you its meter. The prefix tri- means three, and -meter signals the measured line. So a line with three feet—whether iambic, trochaic, or another pattern—fits the term trimeter. For example, an iambic trimeter would have three iambic feet: unstressed-stressed, unstressed-stressed, unstressed-stressed (da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM). By contrast, one foot is monometer, two feet dimeter, and six feet hexameter.