Prosody (poetry)

Prosody has been defined as that part of the study of language which deals with the forms of metrical composition. It was once considered as a subdivision of grammar. This article therefore considers the various forms, the effects they are intended to achieve, and the extent to which poets conform to them.

Verse forms

A verse form, in European prosody, is a combination of metre, length of line, and, rhyme scheme, or, in the case of alliterative verse, the rules for alliteration. There may also be important conventions such as the use of a caesura, though some conventions, such as end-stopping (a significant pause at the end of a line or couplet), are likely to be more ephemeral than the main forms.