Old English metre

Old English metre is the conventional name given to the poetic metre in which English language poetry was composed in the Anglo-Saxon period. The best-known example of poetry composed in this verse form is Beowulf, but the vast majority of Old English poetry belongs to the same tradition. The most salient feature of Old English poetry is its heavy use of alliteration.

Old English metre has been analysed in a variety of ways, with most current models being based on the system developed by Eduard Sievers. The discussion which follows is mostly based on Sievers' model. A widely used system for classifying prosodic patterns is that of Alan Joseph Bliss. Later theorists have reconsidered Sievers' system and attempted to elucidate more fundamental principles explaining it. One particularly influential example is Thomas Cable's focus on the idea that every verse has precisely four metrical positions (consisting of at least one syllable per position, with various requirements and licences for including more than four syllables). A different formulation of the theoretical basis of Old English metre, also ultimately growing out of Sievers' analysis, is that of Geoffrey Russom, which is predicated on a theory of meter involving two metrical feet per verse.