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Metrical stress

Sound
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

The relative emphasis or prominence given to a syllable within a metrical foot, crucial to poetic rhythm and scansion.

Detailed Definition
Metrical stress refers to the relative emphasis placed on syllables within a poetic line according to the prevailing meter, distinguishing between stressed (strong) and unstressed (weak) positions; in English verse, stress patterns create rhythm—e.g., iambic (unstressed-stressed)—and deviations from expected stress (like spondees or pyrrhics) can signal emotional intensity, irony, or thematic disruption.
Example
Example in poetry:
In “To be or not to be,” the stressed syllables (“BE,” “NOT,” “BE”) carry metrical stress; “The CURfew TOLLS the KNELL” (Gray) emphasizes capitalized beats; iambic pentameter relies on alternating unstressed-stressed with stress on second syllable; trochaic lines like “TYger TYger” invert stress pattern for effect.
Additional Notes
Metrical stress is the emphasized syllable within a foot, determined by the poem’s meter (not necessarily natural speech stress); essential for scanning and analyzing verse rhythm.
Also Known As
Metrical emphasis prosodic stress rhythmic stress poetic accent Attached stress Ictus metrical accent prosodic grave
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