The rhythmic pattern in the first stanza of "Paul Revere's Ride" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is best described as five stressed syllables alternating with five unstressed syllables per line. This is known as iambic pentameter, which is a common metrical pattern in English poetry.
Read the first stanza of “Paul Revere’s Ride.”
Listen, my children, and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-Five:
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.
What rhythmic pattern do these lines use?
Paul Revere’s Ride
Responses
twelve syllables per line, with five stressed and seven unstressed
twelve syllables per line, with five stressed and seven unstressed
five stressed syllables alternating with five unstressed syllables per line
five stressed syllables alternating with five unstressed syllables per line
six unstressed syllables per line, alternating with three stressed syllables
six unstressed syllables per line, alternating with three stressed syllables
four stressed syllables per line, alternating with unstressed syllables
four stressed syllables per line, alternating with unstressed syllables
1 answer