Home › Glossary › Letter E

Epitritic pentameter acatalectic

Meter
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

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 complete five-foot line composed entirely of epitritic feet (DUM-DUM-da-DUM), without missing syllables or truncation.

Detailed Definition
Epitritic pentameter acatalectic is a five-foot line composed of complete epitritic feet (˘ ˘ – –) without truncation, totaling 20 syllables; its rarity in English underscores its ceremonial gravity, as the consistent double-stress endings produce a hammer-like rhythm suited to liturgical or declamatory verse.
Example
Example in poetry:
Epitritic pentameter acatalectic: A complete five-epitrite line without truncation: “Glory shines on heroes’ graves”—all syllables present, no catalexis.
Additional Notes
Complete five epitrite feet (no catalexis). Full pentameter line. Classical term: acatalectic = complete. Contrast: catalectic (shortened final foot). Related: epitritic pentameter.
Also Known As
Full five-epitrite line Complete complex pentameter Unshortened five-foot verse Full compound measure
Skip to main content