Need help with meter(ie, iambic, trochaic, anapest, etc)?

under the greenwood tree,

who loves to lie with me,

and turn his merry note

unto the sweet bird's throat,

come hither, come hither, come hither.

here he shall see,

no enemy.

but winter and rough weather,

who doth ambition shun,

and loves to live in the sun,

seeking the food he eats,

and pleased with what he gets-

come hither, come hither, come hither1

here shall he see.

no enemy

but winter and rough weather.

what i mean what is it, i figured out that at some places its iambic but once you get down to some lines, iambic doesnt fit with the poem

Need help with meter(ie, iambic, trochaic, anapest, etc)?internet explorer 6

This is a song from Shakespeare's "As You Like It," with a first line that appears in popular lyrics, provided the title for a Hardy novel, and, I believe, is echoed in Orwell's 1984 with a change in tree.

Your basic assumption is correct: the metrical pattern is iambic. But when that pattern is apparent, it is frequent to substitute other feet occasionally -- usually but not exclusively trochees -- and even, as here, use a feminine (two-syllable) rime for the usual emphasis on the last syllable. What is striking here is that, while the usual pattern is iambic trimeter -- something hard to get away with outside of folksong -- it twice gives way to dimeter (two-foot lines). Do not try this at home.