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Antimetric verse

Structure
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

Verse that intentionally disrupts or subverts conventional metrical expectations to create tension or surprise.

Detailed Definition
Antimetric verse systematically opposes or inverts expected metrical patterns, using irregularity as a structural principle; it challenges conventional prosody to express chaos, rebellion, or psychological fragmentation through rhythmic unpredictability.
Example
Example in poetry:
Antimetric verse: Verse that deliberately opposes standard metrical expectations; e.g., Gerard Manley Hopkins’s sprung rhythm in “The Windhover”: “I caught this morning morning’s minion,” where stress patterns defy iambic norms.
Additional Notes
Poetry deliberately violating expected metrical pattern throughout. Not mere substitution but systematic opposition. Creates tension between form and execution. Rare; differs from free verse by implying rejected pattern.
Also Known As
Against-meter verse Counter-rhythmic poetry Opposing measure Resistant prosody
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