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erosive meter

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 metrical pattern that deteriorates progressively, emphasizing decay

Detailed Definition
Erosive meter describes a rhythmic pattern that gradually breaks down or destabilizes over the course of a poem, mirroring themes of decay, loss, or disintegration; through irregular stresses, omitted beats, or syntactic fragmentation, it enacts entropy at the level of sound and structure.
Example
Example in poetry:
A meter that breaks down over time, such as in modernist poetry where regular rhythm disintegrates into free verse, exemplified in Eliot’s The Waste Land where structured lines give way to fragmentation
Additional Notes
A metrical pattern that suggests a sense of wearing down, decay, or gradual destruction through its irregular, halting, or increasingly fragmented rhythm; a formal device to mirror a thematic concern.
Also Known As
Dissolving meter Corrosive rhythm Wearing-down measure Attritional rhythm
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