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Epic 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 long, elevated verse line typical of epic poetry, often dactylic hexameter

Detailed Definition
An epic line traditionally refers to the dactylic hexameter of classical epics like Homer’s “Iliad” or Virgil’s “Aeneid,” but in English often denotes a grand, elevated blank verse line—such as Milton’s “Of Man’s first disobedience”—that carries narrative weight, heroic scope, and rhythmic authority.
Example
Example in poetry:
Homer’s “Iliad” opening (translated): “Sing, O goddess, the anger of Achilles son of Peleus”; Virgil’s “Aeneid”: “I sing of arms and the man”; Milton’s “Paradise Lost”: “Of Man’s first disobedience, and the fruit”; Whitman’s “Song of Myself”: “I celebrate myself, and sing myself”
Additional Notes
An epic line is a long, elevated verse line (often hexameter in classical epics, blank verse in English) that conveys grandeur, narrative scope, or heroic tone—used by Homer, Virgil, Milton, and Wordsworth for serious subject matter.
Also Known As
Heroic line epic hexameter grand narrative verse foundational epic meter Heroic verse Hexameter line
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