IAMBIC HYMNS

Iambic hymns are those composed entirely of Iambic feet ( u A ). The main Iambic patterns are:

Common Meter (CM) ..... Long Meter (LM)

Short Meter (SM) ..... Hallelujah Meter (HM)

OTHER - Particular Meter

COMMON METERING

Common Metering is, as it's name implies, the most-common form of metering in hymns.
It consists of four lines to a stanza, the first and third lines have 4 Iambic feet (8 syllables) and the second and fourth verses have three Iambic feet (6 syllables).

It is expressed numerically as - 86.86 - or as - 8-6-8-6.

CM ... COMMON METERING:

Picture yourself conducting the singing at church by simply moving your hand up and down. The accented (A) syllables are when you are bringing your hand down with power; hence it is the strong "beat". The unaccented (u) syllables are when your hand is coming up; hence is the weaker beat.

Although it should certainly be avoided, sometimes the accented and unaccented syllables in the words can be changed by the force of the beat:

If this can be done and still sound natural, then you can get away with it, but sometimes it just can't be forced.

CMD ... COMMON METERING DOUBLE:

CMD is exactly what the name implies - a doubling of a Common Metering verse - or, two CM verses combined as a single verse.
It is expressed numerically as - 86.86.86.86 or 8-6-8-6-8-6-8-6.

CM-H ... COMMON METERING with HALLELUJAHS:

86.86.88 ..... or ..... 86.86.86

Common Rhyming Patterns:
A	A	A	A
A	B	B		A
B	A	B	A
B	B	A		A
C	C	C	B	B
C	C	C	B	B

LONG METER

LM ... Long Meter:

LM consists of four lines to a verse, each line having 4 Iambic feet (8 syllables).

(u

A)

(u

A)

(u

A)

(u

A)

Common Rhyming Patterns:

i

HEARD

the

BELLS

on

CHRIST-

mas

DAY

A

A

A

A

their

OLD

fam-

MIL-

iar

CAR-

ols

PLAY

A

B

B

A

and

WILD

and

SWEET

the

WORDS

re-

PEAT

B

A

B

A

of

PEACE

on

EARTH

good

WILL

to

MEN

B

B

A

A

It has been said that LM gives the writer more room to express more majestic subjects and concepts than CM. It also gives them space to give the topic a more stately treatment as well as to give more room for presenting argument and defense. Because it gives the hymn more syllables, it also allows the writer to use bigger words.

LMD ... Long Meter Doubled:

LMD is exactly what the name implies - a doubling of a Long Metering verse - or, two LM verses combined as a single verse.
It is expressed numerically as - 88.88.88.88 or 8-8-8-8-8-8-8-8.

Common Rhyming Patterns:
A	A	A
A	B		A
B	A	A
B	B		A
C	C	B
C	D		B
D	C	B
D	D		B

Six 8's:

Six lines of four Iambic feet (8 syllables).
There are a couple of variations within "Six 8's" - each expressing the form of rhyme used in the text.

Common Rhyming Patterns:
88.88.88					888.888
A	A	A	A		A
A	B	B		A	A
B	A	B	A		B
B	B	A		A	C
C	C	C	B	B	C
C	C	C	B	B	B

 

SHORT METER

66.86 or 6-6-8-6

Although we are tempted to think of SM as four lines, originally it was actually only two lines:

(uA) (uA) (uA)  -  (uA) (uA) (uA)
(uA) (uA) (uA) (uA) - (uA) (uA) (uA)

Come, we that love the Lord, And let our joys be known.
Join in a song with sweet accord, And worship at his throne.

But, looking at it as a modern, four-line stanza, we see more-clearly the challenge the writer faces with SM - that of that using fewer words than in other patterns and still getting their message across. This is probably why this is the least-used Iambic pattern. The writer must get their message across in the first line, reinforce it in the second, and then spend a bare fourteen syllables developing it in the direction they are trying to send the congregation:

Common Rhyming Patterns:							Rise up, O men of God! Have done with lesser things. Give heart and soul and mind and strength To serve the King of Kings.
A	A	A	A
A	B	A		A
B	A	B	A
B	B	A		A

There is also a SMD ... 66.86.66.86

Hallelujah METER

66.66.88 or 66.66.86

Common Rhyming Patterns:					Come, O thou King of Kings!    We've waited long for thee,    With healing in thy wings    To set thy people free.    Come, thou desire of nations, come;    Let Israel now be gathered home.
A	A	A	A
A	B	B		A
B	A	B	A
B	B	A		A
C	C	C	B	B
C	C	C	B	B

Although the first four lines are short and to the point, the last two lines expand to give the writer a greater opportunity to put a big finale or conclusion to the verse.... a final, big burst of Praise.

CHM ... COMMOM METER HALLELUJAH:

886.886 ... 8-8-6-8-8-6

Common Rhyming Patterns:				Though dreams are ravaged by the gale, And hopes are dashed, and all hearts fail - Still, I will follow Thee. Though Hell's own fury strikes the sea, I know Thy Rock will shelter me! And I will follow Thee.
A	A	A
A	A	A
B	B	B
A	C	C
A	C	C
C	B	D

OTHER

As long as you are employing the Iambic Foot, most any pattern will still be considered an Iambic pattern. And for all those variations, the title PARTICULAR METER is used, letting the reader know it is not a standard meter and that it may need a "particular" tune to go with it.

Any combination of two, three, or four Iambic feet (4, 6, and 8 syllables):

Some often-used ones include:

          66.84 & 66.84D ... common rhyming patterns - A A B A ... A A B B ... A A B C

          888.4 or 888.6 ... common rhyming patterns - A B A B ... A A A B

          886.886 ... common rhyming pattern - A A B C C B

OTHERS:

87.87 .... 87.87D ... made by dropping a syllable from LM pattern ... best-sounding rhyme is when lines two and four employ a two-syllable rhyme and lines one and three a single-syllable rhyme.

76.76 ... 76.76D .... made by dropping a syllable from CM pattern.
There is also a Trochaic metering pattern that is 76.76.

10-10-10-10 ... and, each of those 10's can be employed as a 4-6, with the fourth and tenth syllable creating a rhyme within the single line

11-10-11-10 ... a variation of the 10 pattern but with a single syllable added to the end of the first and third line