Question

Count the syllables in the lines of ‘The Divine Image’. Do you see a pattern?

The first line has eight and the second line has six syllables.

Two syllables make a foot in poetry. Here the first syllable of each foot is unstressed and the second syllable is stressed.

Answer 1

Yes, a pattern can be seen in the lines of ‘The Divine Image’. The first syllable of each foot is unstressed and the second syllable is stressed because in each foot, one of the syllables is more prominent or stronger than the other syllable(s) and it is called the strong syllable. It is the head of the syllable. The other syllables in the foot are the weak syllables.