What is Common Measure?
Verse in which lines contain an equal number of syllables and follow a consistent rhythmic pattern.
The Rhythm of Common Measure
Common measure is a form of verse in which each line contains an equal number of syllables and follows a consistent rhythmic pattern.
The rhythmic pattern is known as the iambic tetrameter, which consists of four metrical feet of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable. For example, the opening lines of William Blake's 'The Tyger' are written in common measure:
Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
The first and third lines each contain four metrical feet, while the second and fourth lines each contain three. This creates a pattern that is both memorable and melodic, perfect for the songs and ballads that often use this form.
The term 'common measure' is derived from the early use of this form in psalmody. In fact, many of the most famous hymns in the English language, such as 'Amazing Grace' and 'A Mighty Fortress is Our God,' are written in common measure.
Common measure has a long history in literature and has been used by many notable authors throughout the centuries. Here are two examples:
William Wordsworth's poem 'I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud,' often referred to as 'Daffodils,' is written in common measure:
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
The poem's use of common measure contributes to its gentle, flowing melody, which captures the stillness and beauty of nature.
Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Raven' is another example of a poem written in common measure:
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—
While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
“’Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door—
Only this and nothing more.”
The use of common measure in 'The Raven' helps to create the eerie and haunting mood for which Poe's writing is famous.