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Hexameter 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 single line of verse composed in hexameter, typically dactylic in classical contexts

Detailed Definition
A hexameter line is a verse of six metrical feet, most famously the dactylic hexameter of classical epic, but also adapted in English as iambic hexameter (Alexandrine); its length accommodates narrative sweep and rhetorical grandeur, though in English it often feels stately or archaic, reserved for elevated themes or deliberate stylistic homage.
Example
Example in poetry:
“Arma virumque cano, Troiae qui primus ab oris” (Virgil, “Aeneid”); A dactylic hexameter line: “Over the mountains, through the valleys deep”; A modern hexameter: “Waves crash upon the shore, eternal, never still”; “Sing, goddess, of the rage of Peleus’ son Achilles” (Homer).
Additional Notes
A hexameter line has six metrical feet, typically dactylic; it’s the backbone of classical epic—English versions often mix dactyls and spondees for natural stress.
Also Known As
Six-foot line Dactylic hexameter Epic line Classical hexameter classical line Full six-foot line
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