Reference articles on history, science, culture and more
Encyclopedia

Dimeter

In poetry, a dimeter /ˈdɪmɪtər/ is a metrical line of verse with two feet. The particular foot can vary.

Consider Thomas Hood's "Bridge of Sighs," in which the first line of a pair is of two feet, each composed of three syllables, and the subsequent line is of two feet, each of two syllables.

Take her up \\ tenderly,
Lift her \\ with care,
Fashioned so \\ slenderly,
Young and \\ so fair.

Also, the first line of William Wordsworth's "We Are Seven":

A simp \\ le Child
Watch videos about DimeterExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article Dimeter, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.