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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

A line of verse in iambic pentameter, traditionally used in epic and dramatic poetry

Detailed Definition
Heroic line traditionally refers to iambic pentameter, the meter of epic and dramatic English poetry from Chaucer to Shakespeare and Milton; its ten-syllable, five-beat structure conveys dignity, narrative scope, and rhetorical power, earning the “heroic” label for its association with grand themes, elevated characters, and formal gravitas in canonical works.
Example
Example in poetry:
Alexander Pope’s heroic couplets in “The Rape of the Lock”: “What dire offence from am’rous causes springs”; John Dryden’s “Absalom and Achitophel,” using iambic pentameter couplets; Samuel Johnson’s “The Vanity of Human Wishes,” moralizing in heroic lines; Heroic line in Keats’ “Hyperion”: “Deep in the shady sadness of a vale”
Additional Notes
Heroic line traditionally refers to iambic pentameter, especially in rhymed couplets (heroic couplets) used in epic or elevated verse.
Also Known As
Iambic pentameter line Heroic couplet line Epic line Noble verse line 10-syllable verse classical line Five-foot iambic heroic hexameter Decasyllabic line Shakespearean meter Five-beat rising line
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