Meter & Rhythm
Tetrameter
From Greek tetra (four) + metron (measure). Iambic tetrameter was the metre of Greek comedy and Latin lyric (Horace, Catullus); in English it is associated with song and the ballad.
Definition
A line of four metrical feet — a common length in ballads, hymns, and lighter lyric.
Example
Tennyson's In Memoriam (1850): 'Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky' — four iambic feet.