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Declining 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 form where the length, stress pattern, or rhythmic energy diminishes progressively

Detailed Definition
Declining meter describes a rhythmic pattern that gradually slows or diminishes in intensity—through longer pauses, softer stresses, or sparser diction—to convey exhaustion, resignation, or fading light, often mirroring thematic descent or closure.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Thomas Hardy’s “The Darkling Thrush,” declining meter mirrors dying century; In W.B. Yeats’ “The Second Coming,” irregular meter enacts societal collapse; In T.S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land,” fragmented meter reflects postwar disillusionment; In Sylvia Plath’s “Daddy,” meter declines from nursery rhyme to vengeful chant; In Lucille Clifton’s “jasper texas 1998,” shortening lines enact lynching’s horror.
Additional Notes
Declining meter is a metrical system where the number of metrical units or stresses in a line or stanza progressively decreases; the opposite of cumulative meter, creating a sense of fading or closure.
Also Known As
Falling meter waning rhythm declining cadence weakening beat Ebb meter Falling verse
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