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Full anapestic hexameter

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 complete hexameter line composed entirely of six anapestic feet without truncation.

Detailed Definition
Full anapestic hexameter is a six-foot line of anapests (da-da-DUM ×6), rare in English but occasionally used for expansive, rolling rhythms in narrative or mock-heroic poetry; its length and triple meter produce a driving, wave-like cadence suited to dramatic or satirical effects.
Example
Example in poetry:
Full anapestic hexameter appears in Byron’s “The Destruction of Sennacherib”: “The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold”; In Tennyson’s “Charge of the Light Brigade”: “Half a league, half a league onward”; In Swinburne’s “Atalanta in Calydon,” anapestic waves drive narrative; In contemporary poet Annie Finch’s “Among the Goddesses,” adapted for ritual use.
Additional Notes
Full anapestic hexameter: A line of six complete anapestic feet (∪∪−/∪∪−/…), creating a rapidly moving, often dramatic or comic rhythm; it can be challenging to sustain naturally in English.
Also Known As
Complete anapestic hexameter six-foot anapestic long anapest verse Anapestic hexameter acatalectic
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