Octosyllabic verse
Poetry & prosodyA line of eight syllables, counted according to the conventions of its verse tradition.
Example
French example: La nuit descend sur le jardin. Eight syllables: La / nuit / des / cend / sur / le / jar / din.
Octosyllabic verse uses lines of eight syllables. In traditional French verse, the count depends partly on mute-e rules and whether adjacent vowel sounds are separated or combined.
The short line encourages compression without requiring a light or rapid tone. Stress, pauses and enjambment still shape its rhythm. English syllabic counting follows different conventions from French verse.
In the workshop
Use an explicit counting convention, then read the line aloud for rhythm.
Put this term to work
The writing studio novelists were missing
Outline, characters, places and objects, the links between them, mind map, scene board, export: everything lives in one place. Plus an AI that knows your story, whenever you want one.
Free to write and to export. No credit card asked.