Glossary of Literary Terms

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quantitative meter: Lines of verse divided into feet, which are scanned by syllable length (actual duration of the sound) rather than stress (compare accentual meter). This is the form of classical Greek and Latin verse, and it is very difficult to reproduce in English, which privileges stress.

quatrain: A four-line stanza, whether rhymed or unrhymed. This is the most common stanza form in English poetry.