It may be worth while to give some correct examples in English of the principle metrical feet:—
Pyrrhic or Dibrach, u u = bŏdy, spĭrĭt.
Tribrach, u u u = nŏbŏdy, hastily pronounced.
Iambus, u - = dĕlīght.
Trochee, - u = līghtlȳ.
Spondee, - - = Gōd spāke.
The paucity of spondees in single words in English, and indeed in the modern languages in general, [pg 103] makes perhaps the greatest distinction, metrically considered, between them and the Greek and Latin.
Dactyl, - u u = mērrĭlȳ.
Anapæst, u u - = ă prŏpōs, or the first three syllables of cĕrĕmōny.
Amphibrachys, u - u = dĕlīghtfŭl.