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Initial-truncated four-foot

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 four-foot anapestic line with its first foot shortened or omitted.

Detailed Definition
An initial-truncated four-foot line is a metrical line normally composed of four feet but missing its first unstressed syllable, resulting in a headless iambic tetrameter or similar form; this truncation creates rhythmic tension and is often used for emphasis, urgency, or to vary a regular stanzaic pattern.
Example
Example in poetry:
Four feet line lacking initial syllable: “’Gainst hope we fled”; “’Mid dark we hid”; “’Fore dawn we came”; “’Neath sky we rest”
Additional Notes
Initial-truncated four-foot: A meter based on a four-foot line (e.g., tetrameter) that is missing the initial unstressed syllable of the first foot; effectively starts on a stressed syllable; similar to a trochaic tetrameter where the first syllable is deleted.
Also Known As
truncated four-beat line clipped tetrameter initial-cut four-foot line Anapestic tetrameter acephalous
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