Meter & Rhythm
Hexameter
From Greek hexametros: six measures. Homer's Iliad and Odyssey and Virgil's Aeneid are in dactylic hexameter. Attempts in English are rare and often controversial.
Definition
A line of six metrical feet — the metre of Greek and Latin epic poetry and one of the most ambitious in English.
Example
Longfellow's Evangeline (1847): 'This is the forest primeval. The murmuring pines and the hemlocks.'