Anapestic tetrameter

[1][2][3][4] Anapestic tetrameter is a rhythm well suited for comic verse, and prominent examples include Clement Clarke Moore's "A Visit from St. Nicholas" and the majority of Dr. Seuss's poems.

When used in comic form, anapestic tetrameter is often highly regular, as the regularity emphasizes the breezy, melodic feel of the meter, though the initial unstressed beat of a line may often be omitted.

In non-comic works, it is likely that anapestic tetrameter will be used in a less regular manner, with caesuras and other meters breaking up the driving regularity of the beat such as in the case of Edgar Allan Poe's Annabel Lee.

Anapestic tetrameter is generally used in the parode (entrance ode) of classical Greek tragedy.

The scansion of this can be notated as follows: Anapestic tetrameter was introduced into Polish literature by Adam Mickiewicz.