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incomplete line

Structure
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 line of verse that is intentionally cut short, often for dramatic or rhythmic effect

Detailed Definition
An incomplete line is a verse line that lacks one or more expected metrical feet or syllables, often used at the beginning (acephalous) or end (catalectic) of a stanza to create rhythmic asymmetry, suspense, or a sense of interruption, common in ballad and dramatic verse.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Emily Dickinson’s “I felt a Funeral, in my Brain,” the line “And then a Plank in Reason, broke” ends abruptly, creating an incomplete line; In T.S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land,” “I will show you fear in a handful of dust” follows fragmented, incomplete lines; In W.S. Merwin’s poetry, lines often trail off without punctuation, as in “with the silence of the stone”; In Sylvia Plath’s “Edge,” “The woman is perfected” stands as a stark, incomplete thought.
Additional Notes
An incomplete line lacks expected syllables or stresses, creating rhythmic disruption or breathlessness; often used for emotional emphasis or to mirror fragmentation—pair with full lines for contrast.
Also Known As
Truncated line shortened measure catalectic line clipped verse amputated line headless line Open line
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