Scanning a Line: Metre, Stress, and Substitution · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Find the beat, then the break

English · Reading Comprehension · ages 16-18
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. Which pattern is an iamb?

    • loud then soft, DUH-duh
    • two loud bursts, DUH-DUH
    • soft then loud, da-DUM

  2. What does it mean to scan a line of verse?

    • to mark where the stresses fall
    • to count its letters
    • to translate it to prose

  3. Poetry should be read aloud during scansion because it is written for the ear.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. A line runs da-DUM four times with one flipped foot in the middle. What do you report?

    • an iambic line with one substitution
    • a line with no metre at all
    • four separate metres

  5. In the word today, which syllable takes the stress?

    • to, the first
    • day, the second
    • both equally

  6. The flipped foot lands on the word never. What does the interruption do?

    • it makes the ear catch on the most important word
    • it hides the word from the reader
    • it proves the poet failed

  7. One line looks trochaic but the next three run steady iambs. What is the safer call?

    • declare the poem trochaic from the single line
    • scan no further lines
    • read the odd line as a substitution inside an iambic passage

  8. The diagram says soft but every natural reading hammers the word. Which wins?

    • the diagram always overrules the voice
    • speech wins: report the clash and read with the voice
    • the line must be skipped
LightMySky · lightmysky.comW1-mt_jF8TId2BYf-s1

Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Find the beat, then the break W1-mt_jF8TId2BYf-s1

  1. soft then loud, da-DUM · The iamb rises from unstressed to stressed, like to-DAY.
  2. to mark where the stresses fall · Scanning maps the beat by marking loud and soft syllables.
  3. True · The voice reveals which syllables pop out loud.
  4. an iambic line with one substitution · Name the ruling pattern first, then place the single departure.
  5. day, the second · It sounds to-DAY, so the emphasis lands at the end.
  6. it makes the ear catch on the most important word · Breaks in pattern spotlight sense, so the reading starts there.
  7. read the odd line as a substitution inside an iambic passage · Four marked lines beat one, and lone breaks usually prove the ruling pattern.
  8. speech wins: report the clash and read with the voice · Scansion serves the ear, so a real stress beats a paper pattern.
Worksheet · LightMySky