Hexameter is a metrical line made up of six feet. In English poetry it most often means dactylic hexameter, the six-foot line used in classical epic verse, though the exact rhythm can vary depending on the language and tradition.
Because it is longer than the more common pentameter line, hexameter can carry a broad, rolling movement that suits narrative, elevated, or formal poetry.
Example
At sunrise the harbor was silver with gulls and with moving water
Old footsteps returned through the street as the baker opened his door
An example from Drayton:
- Nor any other wold like Cotswold ever sped,
- So rich and fair a vale in fortuning to wed.