Home › Glossary › Letter C

Comparative meter

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 technique that contrasts or parallels rhythmic patterns across lines to highlight thematic or emotional differences.

Detailed Definition
Comparative meter is a metrical approach that analyzes or constructs poetic lines by comparing rhythmic patterns across different traditions or languages, often to highlight cultural distinctions or adapt foreign forms into English; it emphasizes the relativity of stress, quantity, and syllabic count in poetic composition.
Example
Example in poetry:
Shakespeare’s sonnet “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” where iambic pentameter contrasts with variations for emphasis; Milton’s “Paradise Lost” uses comparative meter by shifting between strict blank verse and looser lines; Emily Dickinson comparing hymn meter with slant rhythms; Robert Frost’s “Mending Wall” balances conversational meter against strict iambic.
Additional Notes
Comparative meter|The study or analysis of how metrical structures and rhythmic patterns differ or resemble each other across various poems, languages, or time periods; a tool for literary scholarship.
Also Known As
contrastive meter comparative rhythm measured analogy Analogical meter
Skip to main content