Final answer:
In poetry, stressed syllables are louder, longer, and higher in pitch than surrounding unstressed syllables, contributing to the poem's rhythm, or meter.
Step-by-step explanation:
A stressed syllable is one that stands out in a word or in the meter of a poem because it is:
- Louder
- Longer
- Higher in pitch
than the unstressed syllables surrounding it. Meter in poetry is the rhythmic pattern created by the arrangement of stressed and unstressed syllables. Stressed syllables help give poetry its rhythm, or meter, which can mimic natural speech or create a specific musical beat, enhancing the overall tone and mood of the poem. For example, in iambic pentameter, a line typically has five 'feet' with each foot consisting of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable, symbolized as x /.