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Heroic quatrain

Form
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 quatrain in iambic pentameter with an ABAB rhyme scheme, frequently used in narrative and meditative English poetry since the Renaissance.

Detailed Definition
A heroic quatrain (or elegiac stanza) is a four-line unit in iambic pentameter with an ABAB rhyme scheme, historically used for narrative, meditative, or elevated subjects; Thomas Gray’s "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" exemplifies its dignified tone and reflective pacing.
Example
Example in poetry:
Heroic quatrain: “The curfew tolls the knell of parting day, / The lowing herd wind slowly o’er the lea, / The plowman homeward plods his weary way, / And leaves the world to darkness and to me.” (Gray)—ABAB iambic pentameter.
Additional Notes
Four-line stanza in iambic pentameter, rhyming ABAB. Heroic couplets arranged in quatrains essentially. Related: heroic stanza, heroic couplet. Study: why "heroic"—association with epic.
Also Known As
elegiac quatrain alternating rhyme quatrain
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