Which meter type is described as two consecutive syllables unstressed equally?

• A. Pymhic
• B. Spondaic
• C. Dactylic
• D. Trochaic

Answer: (A)

Two unstressed syllables in a row describe pyrrhic meter. In poetry, a foot is a unit of rhythm. A pyrrhic foot has two syllables that carry no stress, so they feel equally light. This is different from other common feet: iambic is unstressed followed by stressed, trochaic is stressed followed by unstressed, dactylic is stressed-unstressed-unstressed, and spondaic is two stressed syllables. Since the description specifies two consecutive syllables that are both unstressed and carry equal weight, pyrrhic is the match. The term pyrrhic is the standard name for this pattern, though in English it appears less often because natural speech tends to place some stress on one of the syllables.