Can you tell an iamb from a trochee? An anapest from an amphibrach? Why do children always take such delight in dactylic tetrameter? Is a ballad the same as a ballade, and what is poetic rhythm?

In this neat pocket book, Scottish poet Octavia Wynne examines the elements of poetry, from its various feet, meters and lines, through its patterns, stanzas and rhymes, right up to the poetic forms themselves, with ancient and modern examples from William Shakespeare to Dr. Seuss.