RULES FOR SCANSION

1. Place accent marks ( / ) in multisyllable words on the syllables that sound louder than other syllables.

THE GINGHAM DOG AND THE CALICO CAT

THEY SIDE BY SIDE ON THE TABLE SAT

the GING ham dog and the CAL i co cat

they side by side on the TA ble sat

2. Put accent marks on important one syllable words (nouns and active verbs).

the GING ham DOG and the CAL i co CAT

they SIDE by SIDE on the TA ble SAT

3. Put a half moon ( - ) over all the rest of the syllables.

the GING ham DOG and the CAL i co CAT

they SIDE by SIDE on the TA ble SAT

4. Finally, eyeball the line and put slash lines ( / ) between feet.

the GING / ham DOG / and the CAL / i co CAT

they SIDE / by SIDE / on the TA / ble SAT

5. Now identify the line in terms of foot and meter, e.g. iambic tetrameter.