Julia Donaldson's The Gruffalo is an excellent example of both varied and mixed meter, as well as varying line length for effect. Read aloud the following verse and tap out the rhythm as you read. What is the base meter? Do you note any variations or substitutions?

A mouse took a stroll through the deep dark wood. A fox saw the mouse and the mouse looked good. "Where are you going to, little brown mouse?

Come and have lunch in my underground house." "It's terribly kind of you, Fox, but no--

I'm going to have lunch with a gruffalo."

"A gruffalo? What's a gruffalo?" "A gruffalo! Why, didn't you know?"

Now look at the scansion below. Meter substitutions are in yellow. Did you recognize them?

Points to Ponder

� The base meter is ANAPESTIC TETRAMETER

� Lines 1, 2, 5, and 6 contain a spondaic substitution in the last foot that adds emphasis.

� Lines 1-6 are headless. Note how the lines still flow smoothly.

� Both unstressed syllables are omitted in the first foot of lines 3 and 4, so they both start on the stressed beat. Doing so places more emphasis on the dialogue and gives it more urgency.

� Lines 7 and 8 change the base meter completely to IAMBIC TETRAMETER. The third foot in line 7 and the fourth foot in line 8 are hypercatalectic. How does the change in meter affect the pacing of these two lines? How does that serve the story?

Donaldson further mixes it up in the next section. Read these lines aloud, too.

"He has terrible tusks, and terrible claws, and terrible teeth in his terrible jaws."

"Where are you meeting him?"

"Here, by these rocks...

And his favorite food is roasted fox."

"Roasted fox! Oh, my!" Fox said. "Good-bye, little mouse," and away he sped.

"Silly old Fox! Doesn't he know? There's no such thing as a gruffalo!"

Now look at the scansion with meter substitutions in yellow.

   

Points to Ponder

� Lines 9, 10, 13, and 15 are all catalectic as unstressed syllables have been omitted from the beginning, middle, and/or end of the line. Note how the lines flow smoothly regardless.

� Lines 11 and 12 have been scanned together as one line of headless anapestic tetrameter. Here, Donaldson has played with the line break to give these lines two feet instead of four, thereby allowing her to start each animal's dialogue on a stressed beat. Dividing the line into two shorter lines gives the dialogue more urgency and drama and quickens the pace.

� In line 14, the base meter changes completely to TROCHAIC TETRAMETER with a truncated fourth foot. What effect does this create for Fox's dialogue?

� In line 16, the base meter changes again to DACTYLIC TETRAMETER with two truncated feet. Note that the truncated second foot causes two stressed syllables to occur next to each other. This, coupled with the punctuation, creates a caesura -- a complete pause in the middle of a line of verse -- which is marked by those two blue lines | | between the second and third feet.

� Line 17 is yet another change to IAMBIC TETRAMETER with one hypercatalectic foot. You could also argue that this is a line of anapestic meter with three catalectic feet: __ There's no | __ such thing | as a gruf | __ falo.