How do you determine stress and unstressed syllables in a poem?

Question:We have a test on the meter of poems. I don't understand how you can determine if the syllables are stressed and unstressed.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: We have a test on the meter of poems. I don't understand how you can determine if the syllables are stressed and unstressed.

Well, the best way is to read it aloud and hear the stresses, but if you have trouble doing that, there are some general rules you can use:
For single-syllable words:

Nouns are usually stressed. ("test", "poems", "stress")
Action verbs are usually stressed ("test", "stress" [although you used them as nouns]).
Less "important" words such as linking verbs ("do" in "how do you determine", "was", "is"), conjunctions ("and", "or", "but"), prepositions ("on", "by") are usually not stressed.
Pronouns may or may not be depending on context. Usually you can argue either way.

Basically, the "key words" get stressed, the words that connect them don't.

For multi-syllabic words, it should be easier for you to hear where the stress is. Sometimes there are two--a primary and a secondary (SYL-lab-*ble*--the first is primary, the second is secondary) and whether or not you count the secondary as a stress will depend on context again (e.g. the overall meter of the poem).

Different languages express rhythm in different ways. In Ancient Greek and Latin, the rhythm is created through the alternation of short and long syllables. In English, the rhythm is created through the use of stress, alternating between unstressed and stressed syllables. An English unstressed syllable is equivalent to a classical short syllable, while an English stressed syllable is equivalent to a classical long syllable.

If a pair of syllables are arranged in a short followed by a long, or an unstressed followed by a stressed pattern, that foot is said to be 'iambic'. The English word 'trapeze' is an example of an iambic pair of syllables, since the word is made up of two syllables ("tra—peze") and is pronounced with the stress on the second syllable ("tra—PEZE", rather than "TRA—peze").

"Go sad or sweet or riotous with beer"

"Go SAD or SWEET or RI-o-TOUS with BEER"

In the second line, the syllables in large case are stressed.
Hope thet makes sense for you.