rhythm

In music, the way that sounds of varying length and stress (or accent) are grouped together in patterns. It is one of the three most important elements of music, together with melody and harmony.

rhythm

Recurring stress pattern in poetry (see metre) or prose.

In traditional poetry stress patterns are usually predetermined or ‘fixed’. For example, the English sonnet is normally composed of 14 lines of iambic pentameter, although variations do occur. In poetry that is more open, rhythm may be more difficult to count or determine but must always exist. The rhythm of a poem written in ‘open’ form is known as its cadence; it will often mimic human speech, although it will be more emotive than general speech. Prose writers also use rhythm in their sentences and paragraphs, in an effort to use a language's inherent system of stresses to enhance meaning.