Scan

To scan a verse is to determine its meter -- that is, to go through each foot and indicate whether each syllable is stressed or unstressed. The resultant pattern is called its scansion. We sometimes say a verse "doesn't scan," meaning the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables is irregular -- although it's wise to censure only verse that's supposed to be regular, since free verse isn't meant to have a fixed pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables.

From the Guide to Literary Terms by Jack Lynch.
Please send comments to jlynch@andromeda.rutgers.edu.

Note: This guide is still in the early stages of development. Bear with me.