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Choriambic meter

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 metrical foot consisting of long-short-short-long syllables (— u u —)

Detailed Definition
Choriambic meter is a rhythmic structure built predominantly from choriambic feet, producing a distinctive undulating cadence that alternates emphasis and release; though rare in English, it appears in experimental or imitative verse seeking the gravitas and musicality of ancient Aeolic or Pindaric forms.
Example
Example in poetry:
Choriambic meter builds lines from choriambic feet; Horace’s “Odes” employ choriambic meter for stately effect; English poets like Swinburne imitate it in “Hendecasyllabics”; the meter’s complexity suits philosophical themes; choriambic meter appears in neoclassical and Parnassian verse; it creates undulating, oceanic cadence
Additional Notes
Metrical system based on choriamb foot (long-short-short-long), creating complex alternating rhythm. Difficult in English stress-based prosody. Common in classical poetry. Related to quantitative meter systems generally.
Also Known As
choriambus choriambic foot Asclepiadean meter
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