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metrical marker

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

Any symbol or notation used to indicate metrical stress, quantity, or pattern

Detailed Definition
Metrical marker is a phonetic or orthographic cue—such as stress, syllable count, or diacritical accent—that signals rhythmic organization in a line of verse; these markers guide scansion and performance, helping readers navigate meter in both traditional and experimental prosody across linguistic contexts.
Example
Example in poetry:
The slash (/) marks stressed syllables in scansion: / u / u; The breve (˘) indicates an unstressed syllable; Symbols like “x” for variable stress in folk meters; Notation using vertical lines to separate metrical feet
Additional Notes
Metrical markers (e.g., / for stress, ˘ for unstressed) are symbols used in scansion to analyze rhythm; essential for studying meter; students should practice marking feet in iambic, trochaic, and anapestic lines
Also Known As
scansion symbol metrical notation stress indicator prosodic mark Grave accent (prosody) Grave accent
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