Home › Glossary › Letter A

Alexandrine variant

Meter
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

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 modified Alexandrine line that alters syllable count, stress pattern, or caesura placement while retaining its essential twelve-syllable framework.

Detailed Definition
An Alexandrine variant is a modified form of the traditional twelve-syllable iambic hexameter line, often featuring altered caesura placement, feminine endings, or mixed meter while retaining the core length and rhythmic dignity; such variants appear in English poetry from Dryden to Hopkins, adapting the French form to native prosody.
Example
Example in poetry:
A French Alexandrine with a caesura after the sixth syllable: “Je crains Dieu, cher Abner, et n’ai point d’autre crainte”; An English Alexandrine variant in Dryden: “And all Olympus’ better air to breathe”; A modern variant using feminine ending: “She walked alone beneath the moon’s pale silver gaze”; A sprung-rhythm Alexandrine in Hopkins: “The world is charged with the grandeur of God—so bright”
Additional Notes
An Alexandrine variant modifies the standard 12-syllable iambic hexameter (with a caesura after the sixth syllable) by altering stress patterns, syllable count, or internal rhythm—used by poets like Dryden or Pope for tonal variation within heroic couplets.
Also Known As
Modified Alexandrine irregular hexameter neo-Alexandrine caesura-split twelve-syllable line Fourteen-syllable iambic Rising heptameter
Skip to main content