Home › Glossary › Letter L

Lesbian tetrameter

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

A four-foot Aeolic meter originating in ancient Lesbos, used by Sappho and Alcaeus, typically combining long and short syllables in lyrical patterns.

Detailed Definition
Lesbian tetrameter is a four-foot line echoing the rhythmic patterns found in Sappho’s Aeolic verse, often blending trochaic and dactylic elements to create a musical, intimate cadence; it serves as a vehicle for personal lyricism and has influenced poets seeking to emulate Sappho’s emotional authenticity and metrical grace.
Example
Example in poetry:
A line of quantitative verse consisting of four metrical feet, used in some forms of Aeolic verse (the dialect of Lesbos), distinct from the English accentual-syllabic tetrameter
Additional Notes
Lesbian tetrameter: An informal or metaphorical term; tetrameter means a line with four metrical feet (e.g., iambic tetrameter); this likely refers to a four-foot line focused on lesbian themes.
Also Known As
Sapphic tetrameter lesbian tetrametric line Aeolic tetrameter
Skip to main content