In poetry, what is a group of syllables forming a metric unit called?

In poetry, a group of syllables forming a metric unit is known as a foot. A foot consists of a specific combination of stressed and unstressed syllables, and it serves as the building block for the meter of a poem. Common types of feet include iambs, trochees, anapests, and dactyls, each defined by their particular arrangement of syllables. Understanding poetic feet is essential for analyzing the rhythm and structure of a poem, as they dictate how lines flow and how the poem resonates when read aloud.

In contrast, a stanza refers to a grouped set of lines, often sharing a common rhyme scheme, while a line denotes a singular row of text in a poem. The term verse can refer to a line of poetry or more broadly to poetry itself. However, none of these terms specifically denote the concept of a metric unit made up of syllables, which is precisely what a foot encapsulates.