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Amphimacer 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 verse line composed entirely or primarily of amphimacers (cretic feet with stressed-unstressed-stressed pattern)

Detailed Definition
Amphimacer line refers to any verse line constructed primarily or entirely from amphimacers (cretic feet), regardless of the number of feet present. Each amphimacer follows the stressed-unstressed-stressed pattern, creating a distinctive wavelike rhythm. While lines may contain two, three, four, or more amphimacers, the term emphasizes the metrical foot rather than the specific line length. In English poetry, pure amphimacer lines are uncommon because the pattern conflicts with English's natural speech rhythms, but poets occasionally employ them for special effects, particularly when seeking a formal, balanced, or ritualistic quality.
Example
Example in poetry:
An Amphimacer line (– ˘ –) appears in Tennyson’s “The Charge of the Light Brigade”: “Cannon to right of them” (approximate cretic rhythm); nursery rhymes like “Hickory Dickory Dock” use amphimacer pulses for mnemonic effect; Gerard Manley Hopkins’ sprung rhythm occasionally yields amphimacer lines; the cretic foot creates a bold, emphatic beat suited to incantation; modern poets use isolated Amphimacer lines for rhythmic surprise within free verse
Additional Notes
An Amphimacer line uses the amphimacer foot (stressed-unstressed-stressed); creates a rocking or incantatory rhythm—often employed for dramatic or liturgical effect.
Also Known As
Cretic line Stressed-unstressed-stressed measure Amphimaceric verse
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