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limping 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

Hexameter with a choliambic effect, uneven or irregular in rhythm

Detailed Definition
Limping hexameter is a dactylic hexameter line in which the final foot is a spondee or trochee instead of the expected dactyl, creating a halting, emphatic cadence; used by Roman poets like Catullus for expressive effect, it disrupts metrical smoothness to underscore emotional weight or irony.
Example
Example in poetry:
A poetic meter, also known as the scazon or choliambic, where the final foot of the hexameter (— — — — — –) is intentionally made irregular (often swapping a dactyl for a trochee or iamb) to give a halting or hobbling effect; A meter that ends with a trochee or iamb instead of the expected spondee or trochee
Additional Notes
limping hexameter: A hexameter line (six metrical feet) where the final foot is an iamb (short−long or unstressed−stressed) instead of the expected spondee or trochee, causing a noticeable, halting rhythm; also known as the choliamb or scazon.
Also Known As
Halting hexameter Broken hexameter Hobbled hexameter Choliambic hexameter
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