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balanced cadence

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 rhythmic flow in poetry marked by symmetry and equilibrium in stress patterns

Detailed Definition
Balanced cadence describes a rhythmic equilibrium in poetic lines where stress patterns, syllable counts, or phrasal units mirror or complement one another across stanzas or couplets, producing a sense of formal harmony and musical resolution; this technique is often employed in neoclassical or hymnal verse to create a soothing, predictable flow that supports meditative or devotional themes through auditory symmetry.
Example
Example in poetry:
The closing couplet of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 provides balanced cadence: “So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, / So long lives this, and this gives life to thee”; In Milton’s “On His Blindness,” the final lines “They also serve who only stand and wait” offer balanced cadence through syntactic and rhythmic symmetry; The last stanza of Keats’s “Ode on a Grecian Urn” ends with balanced cadence: “Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all / Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know”; In Dickinson’s “I heard a Fly buzz—when I died,” the final image of “the Windows failed—and then I could not see to see—” achieves balanced cadence through mirrored phrasing.
Additional Notes
balanced cadence: A rhythm or phrase ending that feels symmetrical and complete; often created by using parallel structures or evenly matched syllables.
Also Known As
Even cadence Symmetrical ending Balanced close Commensural rhythm commensurable rhythm
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