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Alliterative hemistich

Sound
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 half-line in Old English alliterative verse, linked to its counterpart through shared initial consonant sounds and strong stresses.

Detailed Definition
Alliterative hemistich is a half-line in alliterative verse, divided by a caesura into two balanced segments that share initial consonant sounds; this structure is foundational to Germanic oral poetry, where the first stressed syllable of the second half-line alliterates with one or both stresses in the first.
Example
Example in poetry:
An alliterative hemistich is half a line with alliteration, common in Old English; “Hwæt! We Gardena” has alliteration on /g/ in the first half-line “We Gardena.”
Additional Notes
Half-line unit in alliterative verse, divided by caesura. Anglo-Saxon poetry typically has two hemistics per line, each with two stresses. Related to strong-stress meter. Study Beowulf's structure.
Also Known As
Half-line Verse half Hemistich with alliteration
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