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Horatian hendecasyllable

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

The 11-syllable line form associated with Horace’s adaptation of Greek meters.

Detailed Definition
Horatian hendecasyllable is an eleven-syllable line modeled on Horace’s Latin lyric meters, typically following a pattern of spondees and dactyls (e.g., spondee-dactyl-trochee-iamb-iamb); adapted into English by poets like Ben Jonson, it conveys conversational grace, philosophical moderation, and elegant restraint, suited to epistles, odes, or meditative reflections on art and life.
Example
Example in poetry:
Horace’s original hendecasyllable: “Maecenas atavis edite regibus”; Ben Jonson’s “Ode to Himself” adapts it: “Come, leave the loathèd stage”; Andrew Marvell’s “Horatian Ode upon Cromwell’s Return” uses English hendecasyllables: “The forward youth that would appear”; A.E. Stallings’ “Sestina: Like” employs hendecasyllabic lines for rhythmic elegance; W.H. Auden’s “In Memory of W.B. Yeats” uses loose hendecasyllables: “He disappeared in the dead of winter”; Contemporary poet Rachel Hadas writes Horatian hendecasyllables in “The Ache of Marriage.”
Additional Notes
A specific eleven-syllable line used by the Roman poet Horace, often characterized by a spondee, a dactyl, and two trochees; contributes to a classical, balanced rhythm; compare with Sapphic hendecasyllable.
Also Known As
Latin hendecasyllable classical eleven-syllable line Horatian eleven-beat line Alcaic hendecasyllable
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