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Alexandrine sextet

Structure
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 six-line stanza composed entirely of alexandrine (12-syllable) lines

Detailed Definition
Alexandrine sextet is a six-line stanza composed entirely of Alexandrine lines—traditionally twelve-syllable lines with a medial caesura—often used in French neoclassical poetry and adapted in English for elevated, stately effects; its extended length allows for syntactic complexity and rhetorical balance, as in Dryden’s heroic couplets expanded into stanzas.
Example
Example in poetry:
An Alexandrine sextet is a six-line stanza where each line is an Alexandrine (12 syllables), as in French neoclassical verse: “Ô nuit, étends sur moi ton voile impénétrable…”
Additional Notes
Alexandrine sextet: A six-line stanza where each line is an alexandrine (12-syllable iambic hexameter); common in French poetry; in English, often used for stately or meditative effects.
Also Known As
Six-line alexandrine Twelve-syllable sextet French six-line
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