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Dibrachic tetrameter

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 four-foot line composed of dibrachs (two unstressed syllables each), creating an exceptionally rapid, light tempo; it produces a skittish, hurried rhythm, often used in comic or light verse.

Detailed Definition
Dibrachic tetrameter is a four-foot line made entirely of dibrachs (pairs of unstressed syllables), resulting in a rhythm devoid of strong beats and often perceived as floating or elusive; it challenges conventional metrical norms and is typically employed in experimental poetry to evoke ambiguity or weightlessness.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Gerard Manley Hopkins’ “The Windhover,” dibrachic tetrameter (“I caught this morning morning’s minion”) uses two stressed syllables per foot for sprung rhythm; In Anglo-Saxon alliterative verse, dibrachic patterns underlie strong-stress meter; In modern poetry, Kay Ryan uses dibrachic tetrameter in “Turtle” for compressed philosophy; In W.H. Auden’s “Funeral Blues,” dibrachic pulses (“Stop all the clocks”) drive public grief; In Lucille Clifton’s “homage to my hips,” dibrachic tetrameter asserts bodily presence.
Additional Notes
Four-foot line using dibrachs for swift, unstressed movement. Creates unusual lightness. Rare in English verse due to stress patterns. Experimental metrical form.
Also Known As
Four-foot pyrrhic Four-measure unstressed Tetrametric double-short
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