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Elegiac couplet

Form
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 pair of lines: first dactylic hexameter, second dactylic pentameter

Detailed Definition
Elegiac couplet is a classical form consisting of a dactylic hexameter line followed by a dactylic pentameter line, traditionally used for laments but also for epigrams and love poetry; its rhythmic contrast between expansiveness and closure mirrors the tension between grief and resolution.
Example
Example in poetry:
Elegiac couplet: Ovid’s Amores: “Arma gravi numero violentaque bella parabam, / edidit haec illi praelia dura mihi.”—alternating dactylic hexameter and pentameter.
Additional Notes
Classical meter alternating dactylic hexameter with dactylic pentameter, used in Latin elegies. Distich (two-line) form associated with love poetry and epigrams. Study Ovid and Propertius. Important for understanding classical influence on English poetry.
Also Known As
elegiac distich classic elegy Elegiac
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