Scansion

Trust not yourself; but your defects to know, Make use of ev'ry friend—and ev'ry foe.
An example of scansion over a quote from Alexander Pope

Scansion (/ˈskæn.ʃən/ SKAN-shən, rhymes with mansion; verb: to scan), or a system of scansion, is the method or practice of determining and (usually) graphically representing the metrical pattern of a line of verse.[1][2] In classical poetry, these patterns are quantitative based on the different lengths of each syllable,[3] while in English poetry, they are based on the different levels of stress placed on each syllable. In both cases, the meter often has a regular foot. Over the years, many systems have been established to mark the scansion of a poem.[4][5]

  1. ^ Greene, Roland; Cushman, Stephen (2016). The Princeton Handbook of Poetic Terms: Third Edition. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. p. 302. ISBN 9780691171999.
  2. ^ "Scansion". mason.gmu.edu. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
  3. ^ Mogan, John (2012). A Journey Towards Poetry. Bloomington, Indiana: Trafford Publishing. p. 44. ISBN 9781466920514.
  4. ^ "Scansion - Examples and Definition of Scansion". Literary Devices. 2016-01-15. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
  5. ^ "UVA Public People Search, U.Va". publicsearch.people.virginia.edu. Retrieved 2021-06-03.