Here's how to break down the meter:
* Anapest: An anapest is a metrical foot with two unstressed syllables followed by one stressed syllable. Example: "You are old, Father William"
* Tetrameter: This means there are four anapests per line.
Example from the poem:
"You are old, Father William," the young man cried:**
"The least you can do is to try to explain
Why you are so slow to get up in the morning,
And why you go out in the rain,
You can see how each line has four anapests (8 syllables total).