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Hyperiambic pentameter

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 five-foot iambic line with an additional unstressed syllable at the end

Detailed Definition
Hyperiambic pentameter consists of five hyperiambic feet per line (each foot: u u /), producing an eleven-syllable line with a distinctive lilt; this meter offers rhythmic complexity and is occasionally used in modern poetry to subvert traditional iambic expectations while maintaining lyrical momentum.
Example
Example in poetry:
Hyperiambic pentameter: Five hyperiambic feet (˘ ˘ ¯): “Beneath the moon’s pale silver gaze we dreamed of distant shores” — creating a lilting, triple-meter rhythm.
Additional Notes
Iambic pentameter with extra syllable(s). Five iambs plus. Related: feminine ending, alexandrine. Study: 11-syllable "hyper" pentameter vs. hendecasyllable.
Also Known As
Extended iambic pentameter Overlong five-foot iambic Surplus pentameter Hyper-extended five-foot
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