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Dithycal line

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 line composed of double stresses only, no unstressed syllables

Detailed Definition
Dithycal line is a metrical line composed of two cola (rhetorical clauses) of roughly equal weight and rhythm, creating balanced yet dynamic phrasing; common in classical oratory and adapted in English blank verse for rhetorical emphasis and cadence.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Anglo-Saxon poetry, dithycal lines use two half-lines with alliterative stress (“Hwæt! We Gardena / in geardagum”); In Gerard Manley Hopkins’ “The Windhover,” “I caught this morning morning’s minion” uses dithycal structure with sprung rhythm; In W.H. Auden’s “In Memory of W.B. Yeats,” “Earth, receive an honoured guest” employs dithycal balance; In modern poetry, Kay Ryan uses dithycal lines in “Turtle” for compressed thought; In Lucille Clifton’s “homage to my hips,” dithycal rhythm asserts bodily presence.
Additional Notes
Line containing or based on dithyramb's ecstatic, irregular qualities. Frenzied, Dionysian rhythm. Related to wild, enthusiastic meter. Contrast with measured, Apollonian regularity.
Also Known As
Two-hymnic line Dual-chant verse Binary-song measure Double-hymn unit
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