Home › Glossary › Letter C

Cadential enjambment

Device
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

Enjambment that occurs precisely at a point of rhythmic or melodic resolution, creating tension between closure and continuation.

Detailed Definition
Cadential enjambment occurs when a sentence or phrase runs over a line break but lands on a natural speech pause or rhythmic resolution at the end of the next line, blending continuity with momentary rest; it maintains flow while offering subtle emphasis.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Wordsworth’s “I wandered lonely as a cloud / That floats on high,” the syntax and cadence flow over the break before settling; “The tide withdrew, leaving the moon / to tremble in each pool” carries a falling phrase across lines before resolution; blank verse often uses enjambment to avoid a sing-song end-stop, as in Shakespeare’s dramatic speech; cadential enjambment differs from abrupt enjambment because the rhythm still feels directed toward a delayed landing
Additional Notes
Cadential enjambment occurs when a sentence or phrase flows over a line break just before a natural pause or cadence, subtly delaying resolution to build tension or mimic thought processes.
Also Known As
Cadential overflow rhythmic enjambment falling continuation closing run-on
Skip to main content