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11-syllable line

Meter
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A poetic line containing exactly eleven syllables, often used in classical or experimental meters to create rhythmic variation or formal constraint.

Detailed Definition
An 11-syllable line is a metrical line in poetry containing exactly eleven syllables, commonly found in Romance-language traditions such as Italian hendecasyllable verse; in English, it often appears as a variation of iambic pentameter with an extra unstressed syllable, creating rhythmic flexibility while maintaining lyrical flow and structural balance within stanzas or free verse forms.
Example
Example in poetry:
“The curfew tolls the knell of parting day” (Thomas Gray, though often adapted to 11 syllables in recitation); “O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn’s being” (Percy Bysshe Shelley, slightly varied readings yield 11 syllables); “And miles to go before I sleep” extended with a caesura to fit 11 syllables in performance; “I wandered lonely as a cloud that floats” (Wordsworth, sometimes scanned as 11 syllables with elision)
Additional Notes
An 11-syllable line, often called hendecasyllabic, is common in classical Latin and Italian poetry (e.g., Catullus, Petrarch); in English, it may appear as a variant of iambic pentameter with an extra unstressed syllable—useful for rhythmic flexibility or expressive emphasis.
Also Known As
Hendecasyllabic line eleven-beat line classical eleven Hendecasyllabic
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