Glossary of Poetic Terms

Couplets in which a 12-syllable iambic line (see Alexandrine) rhymes with a 14-syllable iambic line (see Fourteener). It was used frequently during the English Renaissance; see “Elegy for Philip Sidney” by Fulke Greville. Poulter's measure can also be broking at the caesura, resulting in quatrains of three, three, four, and three feet. This is a common feature of hymn and ballad meter as well. Limericks can be scanned as Poulter’s measure. See also common measure.