Dactylic trimeter
A dactylic foot (known as a dactyl) has a long syllable followed by two short syllables (LSS or /UU)
Trimeter is three feet per line.
Very few poets use just three dactyls per line because to do so would result in a poem that sounds rhythmically tedious. They usually prefer to mix dactyls with some other types of foot to make the poem sound more interesting. For instance, some nursery rhymes include lines with three beats (trimeter) and start with two dactyls followed by either a trochee (LS or /U) or just a single long syllable.
Example
Hickory, dickory, dock.
The mouse ran up the clock.
The clock struck one,
Down the mouse ran,
Hickory, dickory, dock.
Anonymous, Hickory Dickory Dock
A closer look at the feet in this poem
U = short syllable; / = long syllable; | = division between feet
Example 2
The opening line of a famous song from The Wizard of Oz has three beats beginning with two dactyls followed by a single long syllable:
Follow the yellow brick road.
A closer look at the feet in this line
U = short syllable; / = long syllable; | = division between feet
