Meaning & use
scansion poetry
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountabletechnical
The analysis of poetic meter, showing how stressed and unstressed syllables form patterns.
Grammar: Uncountable; used with 'the' or without an article.
Patterns
- scansion of a poem
- do scansion
- mark the scansion
The teacher asked us to do the scansion of the first stanza.
His scansion of the poem revealed a regular iambic pentameter.
She marked the scansion with symbols above each syllable.
Common combinations
- do the scansion
- We had to do the scansion of the whole sonnet for homework.
- mark the scansion
- The editor marked the scansion to show the meter.
- scansion of a line
- The scansion of that line is irregular, with a spondee in the first foot.
- accurate scansion
- Accurate scansion requires knowing where the stresses fall in natural speech.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
Commonly confused: scansion poetry or scanning?
scansion poetry vs scanning
Scanning can also mean looking over something quickly, but in poetry it means analyzing meter. Context makes the meaning clear.
Practice
What does 'scansion' refer to in poetry?
Choose one answer.
Scansion is specifically the analysis of meter by marking stresses. The other options describe different aspects of poetry.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “scansion poetry”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.