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headless foot

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 metrical foot that begins without an expected weak syllable, creating truncation at the start of a line

Detailed Definition
A headless foot is a metrical unit in which the initial unstressed syllable is omitted, typically occurring at the beginning of a line in iambic or anapestic meter; for example, a headless iamb becomes a trochee (DUM-da instead of da-DUM), creating a strong opening that disrupts expected rhythm for emphasis, urgency, or expressive variation without altering the underlying metrical scheme.
Example
Example in poetry:
Headless foot: a metrical foot missing its first unstressed syllable—trochee instead of iamb at line start; In “Paradise Lost,” “Satan exalted sat” begins with headless iamb; A poem using headless feet to create abrupt, dramatic openings; Contemporary free verse borrows headless rhythm for urgency; Such feet shift expected stress for emphasis.
Additional Notes
A metrical foot that is missing its initial unstressed syllable(s); for example, an anapest (∪∪−) starting with the first stressed syllable (−∪ or just −); this alters the line's rhythm and can create a powerful, abrupt start.
Also Known As
acephalous foot headless meter truncated foot incomplete foot Acephalic foot
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