Isoictic metre: a metre (also called demotic or accentual) in which each line has a fixed number of beats (usually four or eight) but no fixed number of syllables; where there are only three sounded beats there will be a fourth occurring in silence (a rest), indicated in what follows by “
Péase pórridge hót 4 syllables
Péase pórridge cóld 4 syllables
Inédible pábulum próbably pútrefied, 13 syllables
Níne dáys óld. 3 syllables
Isoictic metre is the simplest kind of metre in English, and thus the form most commonly taken by folk-poetry, weather saws, proverbs, advertising jingles, and so on:
Thírty dáys háth Septémber
Ápril, Júne, ánd Novémber
A Márs a dáy helps you wórk, rest and pláy
In performance isoictic verse tends to be highly regular in the timing...
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225 words
Citation: Groves, Peter Lewis. "Isoictic metre". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 04 June 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=5518, accessed 10 June 2026.]
