Introduction to Prosody

Free Course

Introduction to Prosody

Master the technical craft of poetry — meter, rhyme, rhythm, tone, forms, and the philosophy that makes verse sing. Learn to compose with precision and publish your work.

Instructor: Mason Carter

Code GC108

Level Beginner–Int.

Price Free

Modules 10

Start Learning Publish Your Poem

Course Description

This free course is the ultimate practical guide to prosody for literature students and aspiring poets. You will learn the technical foundations of meter and scansion, the philosophy behind rhythmic choice, rhyme schemes, sound devices, tone and diction, major poetic forms and their structures, and how to compose original verse with deliberate craft. The course ends with the opportunity to share and publish your poems on the site.

What You’ll Learn

• ✓ Scan and write in major meters (iambic, trochaic, anapestic…)
• ✓ Understand the philosophy and expressive power of meter
• ✓ Master rhyme, rhythm, tone, and sound devices
• ✓ Compose in classic forms and free verse — then publish

Course Modules

1. Defining Prosody: Sound, Structure & Meaning Live
2. Why Technical Craft Matters for Poets Live
3. Prosody Across Traditions (English & Beyond) Live

1. Syllables, Stress & Feet Live
2. The Major Meters: Iambic, Trochaic, Anapestic, Dactylic Live
3. Line Lengths: Dimeter to Hexameter & Beyond
4. Scansion Practice: Marking Stress & Feet
5. Substitution, Variation & Metrical Flexibility

1. Why Meter? Constraint as Creative Freedom
2. Meter, Emotion & Meaning: How Form Shapes Feeling
3. Historical Debates: Strict vs. Loose Meter
4. Choosing Meter for Your Voice and Theme

1. Rhythm Beyond the Foot: Phrasing & Breath
2. Cadence, Tempo & the Music of the Line
3. Enjambment, Caesura & Pauses as Rhythmic Tools

1. Types of Rhyme: Perfect, Slant, Eye, Internal
2. Rhyme Schemes & Patterns
3. Alliteration, Assonance, Consonance & Onomatopoeia
4. Sound as Meaning: Matching Sonic Texture to Theme
5. When to Rhyme — and When Not To

1. Tone in Poetry: Attitude, Register & Voice
2. Diction: Choosing Words for Sound, Sense & Resonance
3. Connotation, Denotation & Emotional Coloring
4. How Meter + Diction Create Unified Tone

1. The Sonnet (Petrarchan, Shakespearean, Spenserian)
2. Villanelle, Sestina & Pantoum
3. Ode, Elegy, Ballad & Narrative Forms
4. Blank Verse, Free Verse & Open Forms
5. Haiku, Ghazal & Selected Non-Western Forms
6. Stanza Forms & Structural Architecture

1. From Idea to Line: Starting a Poem
2. Drafting in Meter & Playing with Variation
3. Revision: Sound, Sense, Image & Structure
4. Exercises: Constrained Writing & Form Experiments
5. Building a Personal Poetic Practice

1. Close-Reading Meter & Sound in Canonical Poems
2. Analyzing Contemporary & Experimental Verse
3. Learning from Masters: What Great Poems Teach

1. Preparing a Poem for Submission
2. Guest Post Guidelines & How to Submit Live
3. Course Review, Certificate & Next Steps

Practice Quizzes

One quiz for each module. Test your scansion, terminology, and understanding of form.

1

What Is Prosody?

Module 1 Quiz

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2

Meter Fundamentals

Module 2 Quiz

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3

Philosophy of Meter

Module 3 Quiz

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4

Rhythm & Cadence

Module 4 Quiz

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5

Rhyme & Sound Devices

Module 5 Quiz

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6

Tone & Diction

Module 6 Quiz

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7

Poetic Forms

Module 7 Quiz

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8

Composing Poetry

Module 8 Quiz

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9

Reading as a Prosodist

Module 9 Quiz

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10

Share & Publish

Module 10 Quiz

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Ready to write — and publish — your poetry?

Complete the modules, practice the craft, then submit your poem through our Guest Post page. Selected work will be published on the site.

Submit Your Poem