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Acephalous

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 metrical line lacking an initial unstressed syllable, resulting in a "headless" iambic or trochaic pattern.

Detailed Definition
Acephalous, meaning "headless," describes metrical lines lacking an initial unstressed syllable that would normally begin a standard foot; commonly applied to iambic lines starting with a stressed syllable, creating a blunt or emphatic opening that disrupts expected rhythm for dramatic or expressive effect.
Example
Example in poetry:
The line “Gathered in darkness, we” lacks a headless syllable, creating abrupt tension; In modernist poetry, acephalous lines signal psychological fragmentation; Acephalous trimeter in Plath’s "Daddy" strips lines of expected opening; Such lines often appear in dramatic monologues to convey urgency or trauma; The omission of the first unstressed syllable shocks the ear into attention.
Additional Notes
Alternative term for acephalic. From Greek "without head." Line lacking expected initial syllable. Creates abrupt beginning. More common in iambic verse as variation.
Also Known As
headless line catalexis at beginning
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