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Metrical change

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 deliberate shift in rhythmic pattern within a poem to signal transition or emphasis

Detailed Definition
Metrical change denotes a deliberate shift in a poem’s rhythmic pattern—such as from iambic to trochaic or from tetrameter to pentameter—to signal emotional transition, thematic pivot, or dramatic emphasis; this technique, used by Shakespeare in sonnets or Hopkins in sprung rhythm, disrupts expectation to heighten meaning through prosodic surprise.
Example
Example in poetry:
Shakespeare shifts from iambic pentameter to trochaic tetrameter in Macbeth’s witches’ scenes; T.S. Eliot changes meter in “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” to signal anxiety; Emily Dickinson varies hymn meter for emotional emphasis; W.B. Yeats uses metrical change in “Easter, 1916” to mark historical rupture.
Additional Notes
Metrical change shifts rhythm or foot type within a poem to signal emotional or thematic turning points; effective in dramatic monologues or narrative verse.
Also Known As
Metrical shift rhythmic modulation prosodic turn cadence change Bacchiac variation Metrical variation Prosodic Shift
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