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French heroic 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

The twelve-syllable alexandrine line used in French epic and drama.

Detailed Definition
The French heroic line is synonymous with the alexandrine—a twelve-syllable line with a medial caesura—used in French epic, dramatic, and lyric poetry from the 17th century onward; it conveys grandeur, balance, and rhetorical force, serving as the backbone of classical French versification.
Example
Example in poetry:
French heroic line (Alexandrine: 12 syllables, caesura at 6) appears in Racine’s “Phèdre”: “La fille de Minos et de Pasiphaé”; Baudelaire’s “Correspondances” uses it for sonorous meditation; modern example: Yves Bonnefoy adapts Alexandrine for philosophical lyric; this line dominated French classical drama and poetry; it balances symmetry and musicality; English poets like Dryden occasionally imitate it for grandeur.
Additional Notes
French heroic line: The Alexandrine, a twelve-syllable line (often six iambic feet in English attempts) with a strong caesura after the sixth syllable; it is the dominant meter in classical French drama and epic poetry.
Also Known As
French alexandrine heroic French line Gallic high verse Alexandrine Alexandrine verse
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