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Metrical break

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 disruption or deviation within a metrical pattern, often for emphasis or emotion

Detailed Definition
A deliberate interruption in the expected pattern of meter within a poem, where rhythmic flow is broken to produce surprise, emphasis, or a shift in tone; metrical breaks can create dramatic pauses, highlight key words, or signal transitions, and might involve substituting a foot, dropping syllables, or altering stress to disrupt reader expectations.
Example
Example in poetry:
T.S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land” uses metrical break between “I will show you fear” and “in a handful of dust”; Emily Dickinson’s dashes create metrical break in hymn stanzas; Contemporary poet M. NourbeSe Philip’s “Zong!” uses metrical break via erasure; Sylvia Plath’s “Lady Lazarus” breaks meter from nursery rhyme to free verse; Walt Whitman’s long lines create metrical break from tradition; Ocean Vuong’s “Someday I’ll Love Ocean Vuong” uses metrical break for emotional rupture.
Additional Notes
Metrical break interrupts expected rhythm to signal thematic rupture. Related to rhythmic disruption and shattered prosody. Use intentionally—disorder should illuminate crisis or transformation, not merely confuse the reader.
Also Known As
Meter rupture Rhythm break Metric fracture Scansion disruption Hypermetric interruption
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