How do you tell the difference between accented and unaccented rhythms in poetry?
The terms of the question are not correct. Rhythms are not accented. Syllables are accented in poetry and when we talk. Most English poetry is falls into a pattern of accents called iambic–an unstressed syllable followed by an accented one. That TIME you WON your TOWN the RACE We CHAIRED you THROUGH the MARket PLACE By reading the line normally and noting the stresses (the CAPITALS in this answer), the accents are revealed. If you want you can look up a word in the dictionary to see where the accent falls. We say conTROL, not CONtrol. There are names for the various patterns of accents–iambic, trochaic, anapestic, and so on. It is not a mechanical matter, however, and this is where the ear comes in. Here is a last line of a poem where the poet abandons for effect the accentual pattern he previously established: When I DIED they WASHED me out of the TURret with a HOSE. There are still accents but they do not fall into a regular pattern. It is a matter of listening for the syncopation,
