Home › Glossary › Letter F

four-line adonic

Form
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 four-line stanza written in Adonic meter, typically combining dactylic and trochaic rhythms in a distinctive lyrical pattern.

Detailed Definition
Four-line adonic refers to a stanza or line group based on the Adonic meter—a dactyl followed by a trochee (DUM-da-da-DUM-da)—extended across four lines, often with variation; this classical form, associated with lament and solemnity, creates a stately, mournful cadence suitable for elegiac or ritualistic poetry exploring loss or transcendence.
Example
Example in poetry:
Sappho’s Fragment 1 uses adonic lines (dactyl + trochee: “– u u – x”) in four-line stanzas; In Catullus 61, the epithalamium employs four-line adonic stanzas for wedding hymn; Modernist poet H.D. revives adonic form in “Epitaph for a Young Poet”; Contemporary poet Anne Carson uses adonic stanzas in “The Beauty of the Husband” for lyrical compression; Ezra Pound’s “Canto XXXIX” incorporates four-line adonic stanzas referencing Provençal troubadours; In Louise Glück’s “Meadowlands,” adonic fragments echo Homeric longing.
Additional Notes
A four-line adonic is a quatrain (four-line unit) where each line is an Adonic foot—a dactyl followed by a trochee (–⌣⌣–⌣) or a dactyl and a spondee (–⌣⌣––); this highly specific classical meter is rarely used in English, producing a light, quick rhythm.
Also Known As
Adonic quatrain four-line Adonai verse tetrastic Adonic
Skip to main content