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Choriambic 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 four-syllable foot (— ∪ ∪ —) often serving as the core unit in choral lyric stanzas

Detailed Definition
A Choriambic line features the choriambic foot (–uu–), combining trochaic and iambic motion into a single unit; it produces a rolling, dignified cadence ideal for Pindaric odes and neoclassical lyrics celebrating heroism or divine order.
Example
Example in poetry:
Choriambic line in Swinburne: “Thou art more lovely and more temperate” – adapted from Shakespeare but with choriambic stress; Classical example: Horace’s Odes use choriambic lines for solemnity; Modern: “Silence speaks / louder than war” – though often mixed with other feet; True choriambic line: “Fame is fleeting, / dust endures”.
Additional Notes
Any line employing choriambic feet as primary or significant metrical element. Creates rocking or wavelike rhythm difficult to sustain in English. More common in classical Greek and Latin verse.
Also Known As
Long-short-short-long line Trochee-iamb measure Choriambic measure Four-syllable dance line
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