Octameter

Octameter: meaning

Let's get started by defining what an 'octameter' is:

This may seem complex, but let's simplify it by breaking down the different parts of the definition. We'll first recap what we mean by 'meter' and 'feet' before we look at how octameter fits into our broader understanding of poetry.

Recap: meter and feet

What is a 'meter'?

Figuring out the meter of a line can be accomplished in a few easy steps. Let's use the opening line from William Shakespeare's 'Sonnet 18' (1609) to help us understand the process:

To assess the meter, we must first break the line up into its beats (syllables). Let's do that now:

As you can see, this line contains ten syllables. Next, we need to figure out which syllables are stressed and which aren't. A syllable the poet emphasises is known as 'stressed', and any syllables they don't emphasise are known as 'unstressed'.

With this in mind, let's return to Shakespeare's sonnet and place the stresses in the correct places. If in doubt, try saying the verse out loud slowly to see which syllables you naturally emphasise. You should find that the stresses fall on these syllables:

As you can see, the line alternates between unstressed and stressed syllables. We can group different combinations of syllables into metrical feet.

By looking at how a poet organises unstressed/stressed syllables, we can figure out which category of metrical feet they belong in. Here are the most common categories of metrical feet and the syllable combinations that fit into them:

• Iamb: unstressed/stressed (da-DUM)
• Trochee: stressed/unstressed (DA-dum)
• Spondee: stressed/stressed (DA-DUM)
• Anapest: unstressed/unstressed/stressed (da-da-DUM)
• Dactyl: stressed/unstressed/unstressed (DA-da-dum)

Returning to the word 'escape', we established that the first syllable is unstressed and the second stressed (es-CAPE). Referring to the combinations above, we can see that escape is an example of an iamb (unstressed/stressed).

Applying this to Shakespeare's sonnet, we can see that the opening line contains five instances of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.

This means that the line contains five instances of iambic feet.

Let's grasp how this relates to octameter.

Octameter

We've now established that different combinations of syllables make up metrical feet and that metrical feet, in turn, make up the meter of a line.

We determine the 'meter' by counting the number of metrical feet in that line. For example, a line of two feet is known as a 'dimeter', three feet a 'trimeter', and five feet, like in Shakespeare's 'Sonnet 18', a 'pentameter'.

With this in mind, a line of eight feet is known as an 'octameter'.

Now it's all becoming clear! An octameter occurs whenever there are eight separate metrical feet in a line. What type of feet they are doesn't matter as long as there are eight of them. For example, a line containing eight iambs would be known as an iambic octameter, and a line featuring eight trochees would be known as a trochaic octameter.

To put things into perspective, here's how octameter compares with other meters:

• Monometer = one foot

• Dimeter = two feet

• Trimeter = three feet

• Tetrameter = four feet

• Pentameter = five feet

• Hexameter = six feet

• Heptameter = seven feet

• Octameter = eight feet

Octameter: example

Let's look at a quick example of an octameter from Rudyard Kipling's 'Mandalay' (1890) before we get into some specific meters.

If you say this rhyming couplet from Rudyard Kipling's 'Mandalay' out loud, you should find that you place stress on the first syllable of each line and then continue to alternate between unstressed and stressed syllables.

As we know, a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable (DA-dum) is an example of a trochee. As this line has eight trochees, we refer to the line as trochaic octameter.

But hang on a second... Isn't each line missing one unstressed syllable?

You're correct! You may have noticed that Kipling's verses begin and end with a stressed syllable. This means that one trochee is incomplete. While we still label the poetry trochaic octameter, we refer to this omission of the final syllable as a catalectic line:

Catalectic lines are prevalent in trochaic poetry like 'Mandalay', partly due to it being easier to find creative rhymes for stressed syllables over unstressed syllables.

Are you getting the hang of it? Let's look in more detail at another example of trochaic octameter!

Trochaic octameter

While all octameter is rare in poetry, some famous poems make use of its unusual cadence. For example, Edgar Allan Poe's (1809–1849) famous narrative poem 'The Raven' (1845) uses trochaic octameter to great effect. This excerpt features eight instances of alternating stressed/unstressed syllables.

Fig 1. Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) was one of the few up for the challenge of writing in trochaic octameter.

One reason octameter is so rare is that lines written in the meter are long and can't easily be spoken in one breath by a reader. Octameter also tends to sound like prose unless the poet implements poetic techniques like internal rhyming. For example, Poe rhymes 'dreary' with 'weary', making the line of octameter read poetically.

It is this need to include internal rhyme that causes some poets to choose the more popular trochaic tetrameter (four trochaic feet per line) for their poetry. If we convert the first line of Poe's 'The Raven' into a rhyming couplet, you'll see that the poem would still be effective in trochaic tetrameter.

A poet writing in trochaic tetrameter also has more freedom to play with word choice and rhyme schemes because they are less at risk of their work sounding like prose. This means that it requires far less painstaking technical effort on the poet's part.

Other well-known poems written in trochaic octameter include Alfred Tennyson's 'Locksley Hall' (1842), Rudyard Kipling's 'Mandalay' (1890), and Banjo Paterson's 'Clancy of the Overflow' (1889).

Dactylic octameter

Dactylic octameter features eight metric feet containing one stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables (DA-da-dum). It is an even rarer meter than trochaic octameter. So rare, in fact, that finding examples can be challenging! While Algernon Charles Swinburne's 'Nephelidia' (1904) is not a perfect example of dactylic octameter. It comes pretty close! Here's an extract from the poem:

You'll notice that Swinburne, similarly to Poe, has omitted the final unstressed syllables off of the line, leaving one standalone stressed syllable. This is another form of catalectic line, known as 'brachycatalectic', which occurs when the final poetic foot is two syllables short.

Like internal rhyming, the heavy alliteration in this is an important method to help make octameter sound less like prose.

Iambic octameter

Just like its trochaic and dactylic cousins, iambic octameter is rare and hard to find examples of. Most poets prefer to include fewer syllables per line of poetry, choosing to write in iambic tetrameter or iambic pentameter instead. That said, here's an example of iambic octameter from W.S. Gilbert's (1836–1911) 'The Pirates of Penzance' (1879):

Like many others who write in octameter, Gilbert uses alliteration to make his verse sound more poetic. Without these devices, the long octameter lines may look bland and jarring. In this case, the alliteration gives Gilbert's verse a song-like quality. This makes sense, as this is an excerpt from the 'Major-General's Song' in Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera.