Masculine Ending
Quick answer: A masculine ending is a metrical line that closes on a stressed syllable, giving a firm, decisive finish. See how it shapes rhyme, pace and tone in poems.
A masculine ending is a line of verse that closes on a stressed syllable, so the meter lands its final beat exactly at the line's edge. In iambic verse this is the default: ten syllables, the tenth carrying stress, the line snapping shut like a latch. The term pairs with feminine ending, which adds an unstressed syllable after that final beat.
Endings are the most exposed positions in any poem, and the choice between a stressed and unstressed close is a choice of temperament. Masculine endings sound certain, complete, quotable; they are why proverbs and epigrams almost always finish on the beat. Understanding the effect, and its limits, helps you decide how much certainty each line of yours has earned.
How It Works
When the last syllable is stressed, sound and syntax arrive together and the pause after the line inherits real weight. An invented example: The rope held fast; the boat came slowly home. The final stress on home seals the statement. String many such lines together and the poem acquires a measured, confident stride; every unit ends with proof of arrival. In rhymed verse, masculine endings produce masculine rhyme, single stressed syllables chiming as in fast and past, the commonest rhyme in English.
Where You Will See It
Almost every heroic couplet in Dryden and Pope closes on the stress, which is partly why the form suits verdicts, satire and maxims. Ballads rhyme masculine at nearly every turn. Frost's most quoted single lines end on the beat, and hymn meters demand stressed closes so the sung note can land squarely. Where poets want relentlessness, they stack masculine endings deliberately; where they want flow, they thin them out with feminine closes and enjambment.
How to Use It in Your Own Poems
Give masculine endings to lines carrying conclusions, images you want remembered, and final lines that must not wobble. Watch for unearned certainty, though: a poem of pure masculine closes can sound like someone hammering the same nail for thirty lines. The craft lies in mixing. Let doubtful passages fall away on light syllables, then close the poem's key assertion on a stress. Endings are cheap to revise and transform tone faster than almost any other edit.
What poets can take from this
- End your poem's most important statement on a stressed syllable.
- Use runs of masculine endings for drive, verdicts and epigrammatic bite.
- Break up long stretches of stressed closes with feminine endings to avoid monotony.
- Pair masculine endings with end-stopped punctuation when you want maximum finality.
- Check your last word's stress in a dictionary if the line's landing feels uncertain.
Try it yourself
Write two quatrains giving advice to a younger version of yourself. Make every line of the first quatrain end unstressed and every line of the second end stressed, then decide which quatrain sounds like advice you would actually take.
Questions
What is the difference between masculine and feminine endings?
A masculine ending closes the line on a stressed syllable; a feminine ending adds an unstressed syllable after the final beat. The first sounds decisive, the second softened or suspended.
What is a masculine rhyme?
A rhyme of single stressed final syllables, as in bright and night. It is the standard rhyme of English verse and follows naturally from lines with masculine endings.
Are masculine endings better than feminine endings?
Neither is better; they are different tools. Stressed closes deliver certainty and punch, unstressed closes deliver flow and hesitation, and most strong formal poems calculate a mixture.
By the Writory editorial team, reviewed by working poets. Updated July 2026.
Enter a Writory poetry contest
Enter the September contest and have your own poem read and scored. That first entry makes you a Writorian.