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Continuous falling 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 pattern of uninterrupted dactylic feet (DUM-da-da) that produces a flowing, descending cadence reminiscent of a cascade or waterfall.

Detailed Definition
Continuous falling meter describes an unbroken sequence of dactylic (or other falling) feet that create a flowing, cascading rhythm without caesura or end-stops; this technique evokes natural phenomena like waterfalls or galloping horses.
Example
Example in poetry:
Continuous falling meter: Lines of trochaic meter ending on weak syllable; “Water falling gently down the stream”; “Footsteps fading softly into night”; Meter that consistently descends in beat pattern
Additional Notes
Continuous falling meter: A poem where the predominant meter is consistently a falling rhythm (e.g., all dactylic or all trochaic) without interruption by rising or spondaic feet; see Unpaused dactyl (7134).
Also Known As
Sustained falling rhythm Unbroken descending meter Continuous descending verse Extended falling measure Dactylic stichic
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