Home › Glossary › Letter H

Hypermetric interruption

Meter
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

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 strategic insertion of surplus syllables into an otherwise regular metrical pattern, creating rhythmic disruption.

Detailed Definition
Hypermetric interruption is a metrical anomaly where an extra unstressed syllable is inserted into a line, extending it beyond its expected count to create rhythmic emphasis, hesitation, or emotional swell; common in ballad meter or hymnody, this “feminine” ending can soften a line’s closure or introduce a sense of overflow, as if the thought exceeds its formal container.
Example
Example in poetry:
In “The Waste Land,” Eliot interrupts hexameter with “HURRY UP PLEASE ITS TIME” as hypermetric interruption; Shakespeare’s “Tempest” interrupts iambic pentameter with “O brave new world!” for emotional rupture; Emily Dickinson’s dashes create hypermetric interruptions that fracture syntax; Contemporary poet Claudia Rankine interrupts lyric flow with prose blocks in “Citizen”; Walt Whitman interrupts cataloging with sudden address: “Listener up there!”; Sylvia Plath’s “Lady Lazarus” uses hypermetric interruption: “Beware / Beware.”
Additional Notes
Hypermetric interruption adds extra unstressed syllables to a metrical line for expressive effect; common in ballads or dramatic verse—use to signal urgency or overflow.
Also Known As
Metrical break Rhythmic disruption Foot interruption Measure interference
Skip to main content