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Extended tetrameter

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 tetrameter line lengthened beyond its standard four feet, often for dramatic effect

Detailed Definition
Extended tetrameter refers to a metrical line based on four primary beats (tetrameter) that is lengthened through additional unstressed syllables, feminine endings, or appended phrases, creating a looser, more expansive rhythm that accommodates narrative detail or emotional digression without abandoning underlying pulse.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Longfellow’s “The Song of Hiawatha,” lines like “By the shores of Gitche Gumee, / By the shining Big-Sea-Water” extend tetrameter with additional syllables for rhythmic flow; In Coleridge’s “Christabel,” “There is not a breath in the forest air” stretches tetrameter beyond standard eight syllables; In Robert Browning’s “The Pied Piper of Hamelin,” narrative urgency lengthens tetrameter lines; In modern poetry, Derek Walcott often uses extended tetrameter in “Omeros” for epic cadence.
Additional Notes
Extended tetrameter stretches the typical four-beat line with extra syllables or caesuras for dramatic or lyrical effect; differs from hypermetric lines by intentional expansion rather than metrical overflow.
Also Known As
Lengthened tetrameter expanded four-beat line elongated quatrain meter stretched tetrameter Hyper-extended four-foot Surplus tetrameter Tetrameter expansion
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