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Metron

Foot
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 repeating metrical unit in classical poetry, often equivalent to a foot or a dipody

Detailed Definition
Metron is a term from classical prosody denoting a recurring rhythmic unit, which may consist of one foot or a pair (dipody), depending on the meter; in Greek and Latin verse, metra form the building blocks of larger lines, and the concept helps distinguish between simple feet and more complex rhythmic groupings, especially in lyric or choral poetry where periodicity matters more than individual feet.
Example
Example in poetry:
A metron is a repeating metrical unit, such as the dactyl in dactylic hexameter: “Sing, O goddess, the anger of Achilles”; In Greek iambic trimeter, the metron is the iambic dipody (u – u –); Sapphic stanza uses a four-metron structure per line; The metron defines the poem’s rhythmic DNA; In Arabic poetry, the bayt is composed of metra; Understanding metra helps scan complex classical verse.
Additional Notes
Metron: In classical prosody, a repeating metrical unit larger than a foot, often two feet combined (e.g., in iambic trimeter, each metron is u – u –); crucial for understanding Greek and Latin quantitative meter, where metra define stanzaic and rhythmic architecture more than individual feet.
Also Known As
Metrical unit
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