Tetrameter: [ti'tramitə]; te·tram·e·ter; (in Prosody) a verse of four measures
Origin: early 17th century (1612 year): from late Latin tetrametrus, originally neuter from Greek tetrametros 'having four measures,' from tetra- 'four' + metron 'measure'.

In poetry

Poetry

Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...

, a tetrameter is a line of four metrical feet. The particular foot, of course, can vary, as follows:

• Anapestic tetrameter
  Anapestic tetrameter
  Anapestic tetrameter is a poetic meter that has four anapestic metrical feet per line. Each foot has two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable...
  
  :
  • "And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea" (Byron, "The Destruction of Sennacherib
    The Destruction of Sennacherib
    The Destruction of Sennacherib is a poem by Lord Byron first published in 1815 in his Hebrew Melodies. It is based on an event described in the Bible during the campaign by Assyrian king Sennacherib to capture Jerusalem...
    
    ")
• Iambic tetrameter
  Iambic tetrameter
  Iambic tetrameter is a meter in poetry. It refers to a line consisting of four iambic feet. The word "tetrameter" simply means that there are four feet in the line; iambic tetrameter is a line comprising four iambs...
  
  :
  • "Because I could not stop for Death" (Emily Dickinson
    Emily Dickinson
    Emily Elizabeth Dickinson was an American poet. Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, to a successful family with strong community ties, she lived a mostly introverted and reclusive life...
    
    )
• Trochaic tetrameter
  Trochaic tetrameter
  Trochaic tetrameter is a meter in poetry. It refers to a line of four trochaic feet. The word "tetrameter" simply means that the poem has four trochees...
  
  :
  • "Peter, Peter, pumpkin-eater" (English nursery rhyme
    Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater
    "Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater" is an English language nursery rhyme. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 13497.-Lyrics:Common modern versions include:...
    
    )
• Dactylic tetrameter
  Dactylic tetrameter
  Dactylic tetrameter is a metre in poetry. It refers to a line consisting of four dactylic feet. "Tetrameter" simply means four poetic feet. Each foot has a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables, the opposite of an anapest, sometimes called antidactylus to reflect this...
  
  :
  • Picture your self in a boat on a river with [...] (The Beatles
    The Beatles
    The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
    
    , "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
    Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
    "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is a song written primarily by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney, for The Beatles' 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band...
    
    "),

External links

• Tetrameter.com A website devoted to verse in tetrameter