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full measure

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 poetic line that adheres fully to its expected metrical pattern, with no missing or substituted syllables, ensuring rhythmic completeness.

Detailed Definition
Full measure refers to a line of poetry that adheres strictly to its prescribed metrical pattern without truncation, substitution, or catalexis, embodying rhythmic completeness and formal integrity; it serves as the ideal against which variations are measured in prosodic analysis.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Greek metrics, full measure refers to complete metrical feet; Latin hexameter requires full measure in dactyls/spondees; Ben Jonson’s lyrics often restore full measure after catalexis; Full measure appears in Renaissance quantitative verse; Contemporary formalists like A.E. Stallings use full measure for precision.
Additional Notes
full measure: A line of poetry that contains the exact number of feet or syllables prescribed by the established meter, without being catalectic (missing a syllable) or hypermetrical (having an extra syllable); it's metrically complete.
Also Known As
Complete measure whole rhythm full metrical unit Acatalectic Acatalexis
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