Home › Glossary › Letter A

Antimetric bridge

Structure
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 short passage deliberately written in a different metre (or free verse) that connects two metrically regular sections.

Detailed Definition
An antimetric bridge is a transitional section in a poem that deliberately disrupts prevailing meter to signal a shift in tone, perspective, or theme; it functions as a rhythmic hinge, using metrical dissonance to prepare the reader for transformation.
Example
Example in poetry:
Antimetric bridge: A caesura or pause that disrupts expected metrical symmetry; in Horace’s Odes, a line like “Integer vitae scelerisque purus” contains a bridge after “vitae” that breaks the expected dactylic flow, creating tension.
Additional Notes
Transitional line or passage violating established meter for emphasis. Structural disruption creating turning point. Related to volta but emphasizing metrical rather than thematic shift.
Also Known As
Counter-metrical bridge Anti-rhythm transition Stress-reversed bridge
Skip to main content