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Eleven-fingered

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 humorous or figurative way of describing a poetic line with eleven syllables

Detailed Definition
Eleven-fingered is a rare, metaphorical descriptor in poetry suggesting excess, anomaly, or supernatural ability—often used symbolically to represent poetic skill that transcends human limits; while not a formal term, it appears in avant-garde or surrealist contexts to evoke the poet as a figure of impossible dexterity or visionary insight.
Example
Example in poetry:
Eleven-fingered: This term is uncommon in poetry but can metaphorically describe a poem with an unusual or extended metric or syllabic complexity, e.g., a poem with irregular syllable counts beyond the norm; A poetic device referencing excess or asymmetry in form; Used to describe a line or stanza that feels “too busy” or intricate in rhythm or rhyme.
Additional Notes
A descriptive term for an eleven-syllable or eleven-beat line, especially in traditions where counting is literal (like the dactylic structure of some classical meters); synonymous with hendecasyllabic.
Also Known As
Hendecasyllabic verse Eleven-syllabled Undecasyllabic Eleven-fingered measure Hendeadactylic Imaginary dialogue Hendecadactyl
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