Which line is decasyllabic? A. Meet me by the dock down south. B. I am sometimes compared to popular actresses. C. I sincerely hope you have a bigger fish than that. D. To whom it may concern: Hello and bye.
The Correct Answer and Explanation is :
The correct answer is B. I am sometimes compared to popular actresses.
Explanation:
A decasyllabic line is a line of verse that consists of ten syllables. To determine which line is decasyllabic, we count the syllables in each line:
A. “Meet me by the dock down south.”
- Syllable count: 7
- “Meet” (1), “me” (1), “by” (1), “the” (1), “dock” (1), “down” (1), “south” (1)
- Total = 7 syllables.
B. “I am sometimes compared to popular actresses.”
- Syllable count: 10
- “I” (1), “am” (1), “some” (1), “times” (1), “com” (1), “pared” (1), “to” (1), “pop” (1), “u” (1), “lar” (1)
- Total = 10 syllables.
This line has exactly 10 syllables, so it is decasyllabic.
C. “I sincerely hope you have a bigger fish than that.”
- Syllable count: 11
- “I” (1), “sin” (1), “ce” (1), “re” (1), “ly” (1), “hope” (1), “you” (1), “have” (1), “a” (1), “big” (1), “ger” (1), “fish” (1), “than” (1), “that” (1)
- Total = 14 syllables, which is more than 10.
D. “To whom it may concern: Hello and bye.”
- Syllable count: 9
- “To” (1), “whom” (1), “it” (1), “may” (1), “con” (1), “cern” (1), “Hel” (1), “lo” (1), “and” (1), “bye” (1)
- Total = 9 syllables.
Since B is the only line with exactly 10 syllables, it is the decasyllabic line.
Why counting syllables is important:
Syllable count is critical in poetry for maintaining rhythm, meter, and form. A decasyllabic line follows the specific rhythm pattern commonly used in iambic pentameter, where each line is made up of five pairs of syllables (iambs), with the stress pattern alternating between unstressed and stressed syllables. This structure is often used in formal poetry, including sonnets.