Making Sense of Sound: Decoding Meter and Structure

This lesson is an excerpt from a presentation I created for the AP Annual Conference, "Making Poetry Accessible and Practical." It covers the different types of meter as well as some rules/guidelines that I created over the years to help others identify the meter of poems. To help people gain an understanding of these ideas, I mention several songs from a variety of genres that have meter ("Stairway to Heaven" is anapestic). Although it was created for an AP class, I use it in all of my classes at all levels.

This download contains a PowerPoint that defines meter, provides some helpful hints when looking for meter, and several songs that have meter and structure.

It also contains a handout for students to practice scanning a poem and a detailed answer key that shows how the rules work with lines of poetry.

Feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns. I look forward to any and all feedback!