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incomplete choriambic hexameter

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 cut-off six-foot choriambic line leaving final unit incomplete

Detailed Definition
Incomplete choriambic hexameter is a six-foot line based on the choriamb (long-short-short-long) that truncates or omits one or more feet, creating rhythmic tension between expected form and actual execution; this fragmentary approach evokes classical antiquity while signaling modern disruption, often used in elegies or meditations on lost wholeness.
Example
Example in poetry:
Truncated choriambic meter line missing feet; A Greek-style verse left incomplete to suggest lament; A line with “– U U –” pattern partially missing; Sappho fragments with partial choriambic hexameter intact but incomplete
Additional Notes
A line of verse that approximates the rhythm of the choriambic hexameter (six choriambs: −∪∪−), but is missing one or more syllables or feet; a metrically complex, but rhythmically varied, classical form.
Also Known As
unfinished choriambic hexameter incomplete six-foot choriamb broken choriamb line Choriambic hexameter catalectic
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