Here's a breakdown:
* Masculine Ending: A line of poetry ends on a single stressed syllable. This is the most common ending.
* Feminine Ending: A line of poetry ends on a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable (two syllables).
For example:
Masculine Ending:
* "The wind is cold and bleak" (one stressed syllable at the end)
Feminine Ending:
* "The wind is cold and bleakly" (two syllables at the end, with the second unstressed)
Important Note: The use of feminine and masculine endings is primarily related to iambic pentameter, a common poetic meter in English. While they can occur in other meters, they are most prominent in iambic pentameter.
Stressed and unstressed syllables are crucial in determining the meter of a line, but they don't directly determine the feminine or masculine ending.
I hope this clarifies the distinction!