Which meter best describes the line “Tell me not in the mournful numbers”?

• A. Iambic Pentameter
• B. Anapestic Trimeter
• C. Dactylic Hexameter
• D. Trochaic Tetrameter

Answer: (D)

Meter is about the rhythm created by repeating stressed and unstressed syllables. Scan this line and you hear a strong emphasis on Tell, me? no—on Tell, not, mourn, num. Each pair forms a foot that starts with a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed one, a trochee. There are four of these feet, giving eight syllables total. That pattern—four trochaic feet in one line—describes trochaic tetrameter.

The other options don’t fit: iambic pentameter would have ten syllables with an unstressed-stressed pattern repeated five times, which this line doesn’t have. Anapestic trimeter would go unstressed-unstressed-stressed, three times, usually with nine syllables and a different rhythm. Dactylic hexameter would be a longer line built from six feet of stressed-unstressed-unstressed, again with a different length and stress pattern. So the line’s brisk, falling rhythm is best described as trochaic tetrameter.