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Clipped 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

Metrical verse in which feet are consistently truncated or abbreviated, creating a halting, abrupt, or fragmented rhythmic effect.

Detailed Definition
Clipped meter employs shortened or truncated metrical feet—often omitting unstressed syllables—to create a staccato, urgent rhythm; this technique conveys tension, haste, or fragmentation by disrupting expected metrical patterns and emphasizing stressed syllables in rapid succession.
Example
Example in poetry:
Clipped meter: Meter shortened for abruptness or urgency—e.g., in Dickinson: “Hope is the thing with feathers— / That perches in the soul—” uses truncated iambic trimeter for staccato effect.
Additional Notes
Clipped meter shortens expected metrical feet (e.g., trochee for iamb) to create abruptness or urgency; common in military or urgent verse.
Also Known As
Shortened meter truncated rhythm abbreviated cadence cut-off meter Clipped verse
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