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dramatic trimeter

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 three-foot line used for heightened dramatic effect, often in dialogue or monologue

Detailed Definition
Dramatic trimeter is a three-foot metrical line, often iambic, used in poetic drama or narrative to convey urgency, intensity, or heightened emotion; its brevity creates rhythmic tension and forward momentum, making it suitable for dialogue, exclamations, or climactic moments, as seen in parts of Greek tragedy or modern verse plays where concise lines amplify dramatic impact.
Example
Example in poetry:
“Hark! hark! the lark” (Shakespeare) uses three stressed beats with truncated feet; “Break, break, break” (Tennyson) features three strong stresses without full iambs; “Out, out—” (Frost) opens with a dramatic three-beat line; “Stop all the clocks” (Auden) delivers three emphatic stresses in quick succession.
Additional Notes
Dramatic trimeter uses three metrical feet per line to create urgency, intensity, or theatricality; often appears in dialogue, choruses, or moments of high emotion in verse drama.
Also Known As
Theatrical trimeter emphatic trimeter heightened trimeter dramatic three-beat line
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