Home › Glossary › Letter C

Catalectic line

Meter
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 metrical line that omits the final unstressed syllable expected in its pattern, creating rhythmic truncation often used for emphasis or closure.

Detailed Definition
A catalectic line is a metrical line missing its final unstressed syllable, creating a truncated, emphatic close; common in trochaic or dactylic verse (e.g., “Tyger Tyger, burning bright”), it sharpens rhythm and often signals thematic abruptness or intensity.
Example
Example in poetry:
Blake’s “Tyger Tyger, burning bright” is catalectic because its trochaic tetrameter ends on a stress rather than an expected weak syllable; “Tell me not, in mournful numbers” similarly has a clipped trochaic close; “Fire in the hill, / night at the door” shows how a missing final weak syllable can sharpen finality; catalexis may occur in iambic, trochaic, or other meters, so identify the expected pattern first
Additional Notes
Line missing final syllable(s) in established meter, creating truncated effect. Common in trochaic verse where final unstressed syllable drops. Contrast with acatalectic (complete) and hypercatalectic (extra syllable).
Also Known As
Truncated line headless verse incomplete meter line shortened verse missing final syllable incomplete line Truncation
Skip to main content