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Metrical Feet
by
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Home
Poetry
Metrical Feet
Analysis
Intro
The Poem
Summary
Analysis
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Table of Contents
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Metrical Feet Analysis
Symbols, Imagery, Wordplay
Form and Meter
Many Different Types; Rhyming CoupletsMeasure your MetersColeridge's poem takes poetic meter as its subject, so it's a safe bet that it's gonna have some meter of its own. And boy does it. It's a v...
Speaker
While Shmoop always warns against naming the poet as the speaker, in this case, we think it's a safe bet. After all, this poem was written in a letter to his son, and he practically signs it at the...
Setting
Quite literally, the setting of this poem is a letter, which is to say the words on the page are contained in a note from Coleridge to his son. But of course a letter isn't exactly a place, now is...
Sound Check
Mnemonic Device for ChildrenWe've said it before, and we'll say it again: "Metrical Feet" sounds just like one of those mnemonics you learn in school, such as "Thirty Days have September, April, Ju...
What's Up With the Title?
No surprises here. The poem is called "Metrical Feet" because the first half is all about different types of poetic meter. Poetry is written in a meter, which is a fancy way of saying "beat." Lines...
Calling Card
Playful and CleverColeridge was a pretty smart guy, and he knew just about everything there was to know about poetry. He likes to prove just how much he knows by doing neat things with his meter, a...
Tough-o-Meter
(5) Tree LineAll right, let's face it: "Metrical Feet" isn't the easiest poem in the world. For one thing, it uses all kinds of terms that look pretty strange. Plus, without a little background on...
Trivia
Samuel Taylor Coleridge didn't see his son Derwent for a period of eight years (between 1812 and 1820) (Source.)By the time he reached the age of 70, Derwent Coleridge could speak 14 languages! May...
Steaminess Rating
G"Metrical Feet" is a pretty intellectual poem, and it was written for a boy who wasn't even seven years old. There is just nothing sexual about it.
Allusions
Literary and Philosophical References:William Wordsworth, "Lines Composed A Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey" (16) Historical References:Derwent Coleridge (Title, 11, 14)