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Dipodic 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 system where each line contains two metrical feet, often used in hymns

Detailed Definition
Dipodic meter is a metrical system organized in pairs of metrical feet, where each dipody functions as a rhythmic unit; common in ancient Greek and Latin lyric poetry, it creates a bipartite pulse that supports musical accompaniment and enhances lyrical flow, though rare in English, where monopodic or accentual-syllabic systems dominate.
Example
Example in poetry:
Old English alliterative verse, such as in “Beowulf”: “Oft Scyld Scefing sceaþena þreatum”; The dipodic rhythm in Anglo-Saxon charms: “Hwæt! We Gardena in geardagum”; Modern example: Paul Muldoon’s use of strong-stress dipodic lines in “Why Brownlee Left”; Seamus Heaney’s “North” echoing dipodic patterns in “bone-white cliffs”
Additional Notes
Dipodic meter organizes lines into pairs of metrical feet treated as a single rhythmic unit; common in Hebrew and some Slavic verse traditions.
Also Known As
Two-foot meter Paired-foot rhythm Dipody Bipedal meter Binary measure Double-beat verse Two-stress meter
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