Within poetry the beat is the pattern of stresses within a line of verse.

In metrical poetry, however, poets don’t count the number of syllables in each line they count the number of ‘stresses’. In types of poems, such as haikus, the writer counts the number of syllables in each line. In poetry, this pattern of the stressed and unstressed parts of words is called the metre, which is the number and type of rhythmic beats in a line of poetry. It can be helpful to think of rhythm in poetry as being like a beat in music. Poets make use of these natural stresses in language in order to create rhythm close rhythm (poetry) The beat and pace of a poem. Try saying it out loud to hear where the natural emphasis falls. In the word ‘banana’, for example, the central syllable is longer, or stressed, when you say it naturally: ba-na-na. We can call this different syllable emphasis stressed or unstressed. The second part of the word sounds shorter. The first part of the word is emphasised when we say it. Some syllables seem to have a long or short sound when they are pronounced. Table has two beats, or two syllables: ta-ble When we speak in ordinary conversation, we pronounce different parts of words, or syllables close syllable A single unit of speech, either a whole word or one of the parts into which a word can be separated., separately.