Anapestic meter is a line rhythm built from anapests, metrical feet made of two unstressed syllables followed by one stressed syllable. That rising beat often sounds quick, buoyant, or forward-moving, which is why poets use it for lively narration, comic verse, and lines that seem to hurry ahead.
It is often written in regular groups such as anapestic trimeter or tetrameter, though a poem may also use the pattern loosely rather than perfectly throughout.
Because the stress falls at the end of each foot, anapestic meter can feel like a quickening pace or a forward surge, mimicking running, galloping, or excited speech. It is commonly found in anapestic trimeter (three anapests per line) and anapestic tetrameter (four anapests per line).
Example
in the hush of the NIGHT by the GLOW of the MOON
came a STEP, then another, then a LAUGH from the ROAD
The repeated unstressed-unstressed-stressed beat gives the lines a rolling, forward motion.
’Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house
Here, the repeated unstressed–unstressed–stressed pattern drives the poem’s lively, storytelling rhythm.
In poetry, anapestic meter is often contrasted with iambic meter, which begins with stress rather than ending on it, giving anapestic lines a distinctly buoyant and propulsive sound.