Meter & Rhythm
Scansion
From Latin scandere: to climb. A technical skill developed in classical grammar schools; the system of marking (/ and u, or — and u) derives from classical prosody.
Definition
The analysis of a poem's metrical pattern by marking stressed and unstressed syllables to identify the prevailing foot and line length.
Example
Marking 'To BE or NOT to BE that IS the QUES-tion' reveals five iambs (u —) = iambic pentameter.