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Bacchic tetrameter 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 containing four consecutive Bacchiac feet (– ◡ ◡ – ◡ ◡ – ◡ ◡ – ◡ ◡), producing a bold, accented cadence.

Detailed Definition
A Bacchic tetrameter line consists of four bacchic feet (stressed-unstressed-unstressed), forming a twelve-syllable line with a buoyant, irregular rhythm; while rare in traditional English verse, it serves experimental poets seeking to evoke dance-like motion or Dionysian energy through unconventional stress patterns.
Example
Example in poetry:
Bacchic tetrameter: “the STRONG and FIERCE will BREAK the WALLS”; A balladic line of bacchii in four feet; Chant-like tetrameter pattern; Experimental poem using bacchiac tetrameter exclusively
Additional Notes
Bacchic tetrameter line is a line of verse made up of four Bacchius feet; a specific type of Bacchic four-measure used in classical poetry.
Also Known As
Bacchiac tetrameter four-foot Bacchic Bacchiac line of four Dionysian tetrapody
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