Types of Poetry Formatting- Iamic, Anapest, Dactyl, Trochee, Spondee

Iambic

Definition: A metrical foot. It is a unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable.

Example: "A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!" -Richard III by William Shakespeare

Explanation: The unstressed syllable in this case is the short (-a) sound before the stressed syllable (Horse). In the third sentence, the pattern continues as "My kingdom for a horse!" the bolded being the stressed syllables, and the unstressed remaining natural. 

Anapest:
Definition: a metrical foot used in formal poetry. Each foot has two unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable. 
Example: "On the far-away Island of Sala-ma-Sond, Yertle the Turtle was king of the pond. A nice little pond. It was clean. It was neat. The water was warm. There was plenty to eat." -Yertle the Turtle by Dr. Seuss
Explanation: In these couple lines, Dr. Seuss is displaying Anapestic Tetrameter. The first two syllables, for example, are unstressed (on, the) while the third syllable is stressed (far). It happens again in the next three syllables, starting with (a-way) and ending on the strong -I sound from Island. The line has four sets of this pattern (which is why it's a tetrameter), making each line contain 12 syllables. 

Dactyl:

Definition: a metrical foot. It is known as the "backwards Anapest" because it's a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable. 

Example: "Just for a handful of silver he left us; Just for a riband to stick in his coat." -The Lost Leader by Robert Fry.

Explanation: The first syllable in the line is stressed (just) but the next to are unstressed (for, a). It happens again in the next three syllables, with one stressed (hand-) and the next two unstressed (-ful, of). It is the opposite of what is above. 

Trochee: 

Definition: a metrical foot. It includes one stressed syllable followed by one short or unstressed syllable.

Example: "Should you ask me, whence these stories? Whence these legends and traditions, with the odours of the forest, with the dew and damp of meadows." - The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Explanation: This passage is almost completely written in trochees. Words like: should, ask, whence, and the beginning syllable of stories (sto-) are stressed, but the words in between them like: you, me, these, and the ending syllable of stories (-ies) are unstressed. This pattern continues with "Whence these legends and traditions," the stressed being bolded, and unstressed remaining natural. 

Spondee: 

Definition: a metrical foot. It is two stressed syllables, but the spondee does not typically support a metrical line. Instead, spondees are irregular feet based on another type of foot.

Example: "If I do prove her haggard, Though that her jesses were my dear heart-strings," -Othello by Shakespeare

Explanation: In this case, "heart-strings" would be a spondee because it is too awkward to be said iambicly. Usually, a spondee is preceded with a curse word, insult, or something of that variety.