The Quatrain of Seven Steps seven strides such that Cao Pi is convinced of his innocence. Cao Zhi does so, and Cao Pi becomes so flustered with emotion that he spares his brother, although he later exacts punishment upon Cao Zhi in the form of demotion. The poem itself is written in the traditional "five-character quatrain" style and is an extended metaphor that describes the relationship of two brothers and the ill-conceived notion of one harming the other over petty squabbling. There exists two versions of the poem, one being six lines in length and the other four. The former is generally thought to be
Syllabic verse "flowers" (a w-glide) as 1. Because these lines are longer, irregular, and frequently enjambed ("as the / dead fountains"), it is quite clear that the symmetry of syllables is not meant to be audible. Moore's use of end-rhyme is telling. Only 2 lines in each stanza are rhymed: these are "emphasized" for the reader by indentation, but "hidden" from the listener by radical enjambment ("fawn- / brown" and "coxcomb- / tinted"). Elizabeth Daryush, known for her use of syllabic verse, used the quaternion form for her celebrated syllabic verse poem 'Accentedal'. The modern French language does not have a significant