16-the forms of the poem contributes to the meaning by The poem Alone by Edgar Allan Poe is twenty-two lines. It consists of eleven rhyming couplets. Each pairing rhyme is only used once. Meter in the the poem is varied skillfully so as to maximize the impact of each line. The first line is in iambic pentameter, so long as both “child” and “hour” are given two syllables, otherwise it could be argued to be in iambic terameter. The next eleven lines are clearly in iambic tetrameter. Lines thirteen to seventeen change the pace of the poem, and are in trochaic tetrameter. Finally, the last two lines, while still in trochaic tetrameter drop the last beat, and thus are catalectic. This adds much drama to the end of the poem.