---
title: "Scanning a Line: Metre, Stress, and Substitution"
description: "Mark the stresses in a line of verse, name the pattern it sets up, and find where the poet departs from it. The departures are usually where the reading starts."
canonical: https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/scanning-a-line-metre-stress-and-substitution-mt_jF8TId2BYf
source: https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/scanning-a-line-metre-stress-and-substitution-mt_jF8TId2BYf.md
retrieved: 2026-09-12
---

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# Scanning a Line: Metre, Stress, and Substitution

Mark the stresses in a line of verse, name the pattern it sets up, and find where the poet departs from it. The departures are usually where the reading starts.

Subject: English · Area: Reading Comprehension · Ages 16 to 18
Page: https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/scanning-a-line-metre-stress-and-substitution-mt_jF8TId2BYf

## Ready when they can

- Mark stressed and unstressed syllables across four lines and name the metre
- Find a substituted foot and explain what the interruption does to the sense
- Read a line aloud against its metre and say which wins, the pattern or the speech

## Lesson: Find the beat, then the break

Scanning a line means marking where the stresses fall when you read it aloud. Grown-ups call this prosody, but it only means finding the beat. Copy the poem double-spaced for working room, take two marks, one for stressed and one for unstressed, and read each line slowly, listening to your own voice.

**Example.** A repeating pattern of stresses is called the metre. An iamb pairs one soft syllable with one loud one, sounding da-DUM, as in to-DAY. Four such pairs in a line make its music steady, and naming that pattern is half the task.

Now hunt the spot where a line breaks its own pattern. That substituted foot holds the most important word in the line, because the poet wanted your ear to catch on it. The departure is usually where the reading truly starts, so circle it and ask what the interruption does to the sense.

**Tip.** Read the line aloud against its metre and judge which wins, the pattern or the speech. Mark stressed and unstressed syllables across four lines rather than one, since a single line can mislead. Poetry is written for the ear, so trust the voice over the diagram when they fight.

**Recap.** Mark the stresses, name the pattern, and start reading where the pattern breaks.

## Practice

8 questions on this page, each with its working shown.

## Needs first

- [Poetry: Form, Sound, and Line as Meaning](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/poetry-form-sound-and-line-as-meaning-mt_16EYLKp49Q)

## Opens up

- [Genre as a Set of Expectations](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/genre-as-a-set-of-expectations-mt_2OD97Y6LmG)