Dactyl (poetry) Article Index for
Dactyl
 

Information About

Dactyl (poetry)




An example of dactylic meter is the first line of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 's poem Evangeline , which is in Dactylic Hexameter :

:''This is the / '''for'''est prim- / '''ev'''al. The / '''mur'''muring / '''pines''' and the / '''hem'''locks,''

The first five feet of the line are dactyls; the sixth a Trochee .

A modern example is The Beatles song " Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds ":

:''Picture your '''self''' in a '''boat''' on a '''riv'''er with''
:''tangerine '''tree'''-ees and '''mar'''malade '''skii'''-ii-es.''

Written in dactylic tetrameter, the song has the rhythm of a Waltz . The word "skies" takes up a full three beats.


SEE ALSO