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Lament five-foot line

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 (pentameter) line specifically employed in elegiac or mournful poetry to convey solemnity and grief.

Detailed Definition
A five-foot metrical line used in poems of lamentation or mourning, combining pentameter's measured, serious rhythm with the function of expressing grief. The five-beat pattern creates appropriate solemnity while allowing sufficient length for complex thought and feeling, making it common in formal elegiac traditions where the regular iambic pentameter provides stable structure for sustained meditation on loss while maintaining the dignity expected in funeral and memorial contexts.
Example
Example in poetry:
“O why was I born to mourn and fade?”; “My heart, once bright, now lies in ash and dust”; “Alas, the days of joy are fled forever”; “Grief’s heavy hand has stilled my trembling voice”; “Where now the light that warmed my youthful days?”
Additional Notes
Pentameter creates serious, measured tone for lamentation. Five feet allow complex syntax and developed thought. Common in formal elegies and dirges.
Also Known As
Pentameter lament Five-foot dirge Elegiac iambic line Five-measure mourning verse Elegiac pentameter
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