Definition

The process of analyzing a poem or verse to identify its rhythm and meter.

Example

The teacher explained the scansion of the poem to help the students understand its structure.

Conversation

Have you ever studied scansion in poetry class?

Yeah, it really helps to understand the rhythm of the verses.

I find it fascinating how scansion reveals the structure of a poem.

Definitely! It makes the reading experience so much richer.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Root Explanation

Scansion → It is formed from "scan" (from Latin "scanere", meaning to climb or to traverse) and the suffix "-ion" (meaning the action or process of). The word "scansion" refers to the action of analyzing the metrical structure of a poem by marking the stresses and syllables.

Memory Tip

Think of 'scanning' a poem to analyze its rhythm and structure — that's what scansion means.

Visually Confused Words