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For “The Lady of Shalott,” Tennyson devised a unique nine-line stanza form, the predominant rhythm of which is iambic. (Iambic rhythm follows a general da-DUM pattern, as in the word “to-day.”) The first eight lines of each stanza have four feet and thus are written in iambic tetrameter. However, the final line of each stanza has just three feet and thus is an example of iambic trimeter. The poem’s opening stanza offers a representative example (lines 1–9):

On ei- / ther side / the ri- / ver lie
Long fields / of bar- / ley and / of rye,
That clothe / the wold / and meet / the sky;
And thro’ / the field / the road / runs by
       To ma- / ny-to- / wer’d Ca- / me-lot;
And up / and down / the peo- / ple go,
Ga-zing / where the / li-lies / blow
Round an / is-land / there be- / low,
       The is- / land of / Sha-lott.

The rhythm of this opening stanza is almost entirely iambic. The only notable deviation occurs in lines 7–8, where Tennyson reverses the iambic rhythm using trochees (stressed–unstressed). This is a common substitution throughout the poem, with many stanzas featuring trochaic tetrameter in the seventh and eighth lines. In this case, lines 7 and 8 are also both lacking the final unstressed syllable that we would expect from strict trochaic rhythm. This creates a feeling of tension that resolves with the return to iambic rhythm in the final line. In this way, Tennyson develops a pattern of metrical variation that gives his stanza form a satisfying sense of completeness. Each stanza thus forms a discrete unit in the poem’s overall narrative.

Although most of the poem follows a similar iambic pattern, there are several striking examples of stanzas that consist almost entirely of trochaic rhythm. The poem’s second stanza provides one such example (lines 10–18):

Will-ows / whi-ten, / as-pens / qui-ver,
Litt-le / bree-zes / dusk and / shi-ver
Thro’ the / wave that / runs for / e-ver
By the / is-land / in the / ri-ver
       Flow-ing / down to / Ca-me- / lot.
Four gray / walls, and / four gray / to-wers,
O-ver- / look a / space of / flow-ers,
And the / si-lent / isle im- / bow-ers
       The La- / dy of / Sha-lott.

In contrast with the poem’s opening stanza, this one consists almost entirely of trochees. The first eight lines are all examples of strict trochaic tetrameter. The only exception here is the fifth line, which is missing a final unstressed syllable, creating a brief moment of suspension midway through the stanza. Then, after all this trochaic rhythm, the meter shifts back to iambic rhythm in the final line. Although metrically the second stanza completely inverts the rhythm of the first, the overall effect is quite similar. Consider, for example, how Tennyson is still able to preserve a subtle sense of tension and resolution in the shift to the final line. In the first stanza he achieved this effect in part through a double stress that resulted from a shortened trochaic line: “. . . where the / li-lies blow // Round an / is-land . . .” In the second stanza, by contrast, he creates suspension through the doubling of unstressed syllables: “. . . si-lent / isle im- / bow-ers // The La- / dy of / Sha-lott.” Despite slightly different mechanics, the effect is similar.

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