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Complete 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 pentameter line composed of five full metrical feet without truncation, elision, or catalexis, preserving standard rhythmic length.

Detailed Definition
Complete pentameter describes a fully realized line of five metrical feet, most commonly iambic pentameter in English poetry, providing a balanced and versatile rhythm that supports both dramatic and lyrical expression; its completeness implies adherence to expected stress patterns without truncation or hypercatalexis.
Example
Example in poetry:
Shakespeare’s sonnets in complete iambic pentameter; Milton’s “Paradise Lost” blank verse pentameter lines; Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales” heroic couplets in pentameter; Alexander Pope’s rhymed pentameter couplets.
Additional Notes
Complete pentameter|A line of verse consisting of five metrical feet, where all feet adhere to the required rhythmic pattern, such as the iamb in iambic pentameter; a fundamental unit in English poetry.
Also Known As
whole pentameter full five-beat line perfect pentameter Acatalectic pentameter Full five-foot line Untruncated pentameter
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