Trimeter
Trimeter is a line of verse with three feet, such as three iambs or three beats.
A song from As You Like It runs in short three-beat lines.
Under the greenwood tree
Who loves to lie with me,William Shakespeare, As You Like It, 1599
Read the full song on Bossfeed.
What it is
The word comes from the Greek for "three measures". Trimeter lines are short and quick, so they suit songs and light verse. Placed beside longer lines they can also create a sudden stop.
How to spot it
Tap the stresses. Three taps to a line means trimeter. The lines look short on the page and read quickly, so a poem in trimeter often feels brisk or playful. Many songs and light poems use it. A poem that mixes trimeter with longer lines can use the short ones as a sharp stop or a punch line. If every line feels clipped, check whether three beats suit the subject or whether the poem needs room to breathe.
Why it matters to a writer or editor
Count the beats when a line feels too short or too long next to its neighbors. Three-beat lines read as brisk and simple, while tetrameter and pentameter read as more expansive.
Frequently asked questions
How many syllables are in a trimeter line?
Six in iambic trimeter, because each iamb has two syllables. Other feet give other counts.