Final answer:
The word "Characteristically" follows a dactylic rhythm with seven syllables and would best be approximated as Dactylic heptameter given the provided choices.
Step-by-step explanation:
To determine the meter and line length for the word "Characteristically," we first need to break it down into its syllables, noting the stressed and unstressed pattern. Upon dividing the word into syllables, it becomes clear that "Characteristically" has seven syllables with the stress pattern of da-DA-da-DA-da-DA-da, which is a dactylic pattern where the first syllable of each foot is stressed followed by two unstressed syllables.
Since "Characteristically" has seven syllables, it could fit into a dactylic pattern with two full dactyls and one trochee, but not perfectly into any of the traditional meters given in the options (A-D). However, the seven-syllable word itself mostly follows a dactylic rhythm, so the best approximation among the given choices would be D) Dactylic heptameter, considering that 'hepta-' refers to the number seven.
To confirm this, note that a dactylic meter uses a foot consisting of a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed ones, as outlined in the reference material. Heptameter refers to a line containing seven metrical feet, which aligns with the seven syllables of the word in question.