lyriic

Trochaic tetrameter checker

Shape a draft against eight-syllable trochaic lines (DUM-da × 4). Same syllable and stress engine as the lyriic poetry editor — private in your browser.

This draft hits 8 with matching stress.

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lyriic checks an eight-syllable line with a trochaic (strong–weak) stress contour. Catalectic lines that drop the final unstressed syllable — common in Blake and Shakespeare — will show as short against this full-tetrameter grid.

A short history

Trochaic tetrameter is four trochees per line: a falling foot of stressed then unstressed (DUM-da), repeated four times for eight syllables in the full English teaching form. The name comes from Greek trokhaios (“running”); classical “tetrameter” counted metra differently, so Greek and Latin trochaic tetrameter is a longer quantitative line than the English eight-syllable shape.

In English verse the meter often feels chant-like or song-like. Longfellow’s Song of Hiawatha is the best-known sustained English example in full (acatalectic) trochaic tetrameter. Shakespeare’s fairy and witch speeches, and many lyrics such as Blake’s “The Tyger,” commonly drop the final unstressed beat (catalectic tetrameter), ending on a strong syllable. Related traditions include medieval Latin sequences such as the Dies Irae and the Balto-Finnic Kalevala meter, which uses its own long/short syllable rules rather than English stress alone.

Famous poems

  • The Song of Hiawatha — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

    By the shores of Gitche Gumee, / By the shining Big-Sea-Water,

    Sustained English epic in full trochaic tetrameter; often the classroom exemplar of the complete eight-syllable line.

  • The Tyger — William Blake

    Tyger Tyger, burning bright, / In the forests of the night;

    Largely catalectic trochaic tetrameter — seven syllables ending on a stress, not the full eight-beat grid.

  • A Midsummer Night's Dream (fairy / Puck speeches) — William Shakespeare

    Through the forest have I gone. / But Athenian found I none,

    Fairy dialogue often in catalectic trochaic tetrameter, distinct from the play’s blank-verse stretches.

  • Macbeth (the Weird Sisters) — William Shakespeare

    When shall we three meet again / In thunder, lightning, or in rain?

    Witch chants lean on falling trochaic rhythms, frequently catalectic.

How trochaic tetrameter works

English trochaic tetrameter is four trochees per line: eight syllables with expected stress on positions 1, 3, 5, and 7 (DUM-da DUM-da DUM-da DUM-da). lyriic’s catalog uses that single-line cycle with no fixed stanza length.

Catalexis — dropping the final unstressed syllable — is common in English practice, so many famous lines scan as seven syllables ending on a strong beat. This checker models the full eight-syllable teaching form; catalectic drafts will read as one syllable short.

Do not confuse the English accentual-syllabic shape with classical quantitative trochaic tetrameter (longer metra) or with Kalevala meter, which follows Finnic length and alliteration rules. Those traditions are outside this checker’s grid.

Trochee (DUM-da)

A trochee is a two-syllable foot with a strong beat then a light one: DUM-da. Words like “garden,” “poetry,” and “falling” often open on that falling rhythm.

Repeated trochees make trochaic meter—tetrameter (eight syllables) is common in song and children’s verse; longer lines appear in hymns and narrative. English poets often drop or lighten a final weak syllable, so lines may feel truncated compared with a pure foot grid.

With the stress pack loaded, lyriic marks expected strong–weak beats from dictionary stress against that trochaic contour, so you can see where the line matches or drifts.

Trochaic 4-foot contour

Trochaic tetrameter expects four DUM-da feet: eight syllables with strong beats on positions 1, 3, 5, and 7.

lyriic checks this falling duple contour when the stress pack is loaded. Catalectic lines that drop a final weak beat are common in the tradition and will read as short against a full eight-slot grid.

Notes on this form

Classical quantitative trochaic tetrameter and Kalevala meter use different counting rules. lyriic does not enforce rhyme schemes, alliteration, or fixed stanza shapes.

Common questions

What is trochaic tetrameter?
In English, a line of four trochees: eight syllables alternating stressed and unstressed (DUM-da × 4). Poets often omit the last weak syllable (catalexis), leaving a seven-syllable line that ends on a stress.
Does lyriic check stress as well as syllables?
Yes. For Trochaic tetrameter, lyriic targets eight syllables and the trochaic strong–weak contour when the stress pack is loaded. Open the zen editor with this meter for live rulers beside each line.
Is my draft uploaded?
No. Syllable and stress checks run locally in your browser. lyriic is local-first and does not require an account.