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Anacreontic dimeter

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 two-foot line mimicking the light, playful meter of Anacreon’s drinking songs

Detailed Definition
Anacreontic dimeter is a two-foot line modeled after the light, convivial meters of the Greek poet Anacreon, typically composed of iambic or anapestic rhythms; it conveys themes of love, wine, and fleeting joy, later revived in English by poets like Herrick and Moore for playful or amorous lyricism.
Example
Example in poetry:
Anacreontic dimeter has two Anacreontic feet (˘ ˘ ¯ ˘ ¯); e.g., “Drink and be merry, friend, today,” capturing the light, carpe diem spirit of Anacreon’s lyrics.
Additional Notes
Two-foot anacreontic line. Rare and brief; usually part of longer stanza. Related to dimeter variations. Creates quick, light rhythm appropriate for drinking songs and celebratory verse. See classical Greek models.
Also Known As
Anacreontic two-foot Wine-song dimeter Drinking meter short
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