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Classical pentameter

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 metric line of five feet used in classical Greek, Latin, and adapted English verse traditions

Detailed Definition
Classical pentameter refers specifically to the second line of the elegiac couplet in Latin and Greek poetry—a dactylic line with five feet, but metrically distinct from hexameter due to a central caesura and truncated final foot; it creates a responsive, reflective counterpoint to the preceding hexameter line in elegiac verse.
Example
Example in poetry:
Pentameter in traditional classical sense with five measures; Latin elegiac pentameter; English adaptations into heroic pentameter; Classical drama lines in 5 metrical feet.
Additional Notes
Classical pentameter|A line of verse consisting of five metrical feet in the quantitative system of Greek or Latin poetry, not to be confused with English iambic pentameter.
Also Known As
quantitative pentameter classical five-foot line ancient pentameter Greek-Latin pentameter Glyconic pentameter Greek lyric pentameter Ionic pentameter
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