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midline pause

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 caesura positioned at or near the center of a line, dividing it into balanced or contrasting rhythmic segments.

Detailed Definition
A midline pause (or medial caesura) is a deliberate break within a poetic line, often marked by punctuation or natural speech rhythm, that creates emphasis, contrast, or dramatic effect; it allows for breath, reflection, or syntactic pivot, adding complexity to meter and enhancing rhetorical power in both classical and modern verse.
Example
Example in poetry:
In Alexander Pope’s “An Essay on Criticism,” “To err is human; // to forgive, divine” uses a midline pause (caesura) marked by the semicolon; In Old English poetry like “Beowulf,” “Hwæt! We Gardena // in geardagum” features a strong midline pause; In T.S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land,” “I will show you fear // in a handful of dust” uses midline pause for dramatic effect; In Emily Dickinson’s “Because I could not stop for Death,” “We paused before a House that seemed // A Swelling of the Ground” employs midline pause to emphasize revelation.
Additional Notes
Midline pause (caesura) is a break within a line, marked by punctuation or breath; adds drama, emphasis, or conversational tone; common in Anglo-Saxon and dramatic verse; use to control pacing and highlight contrast.
Also Known As
Caesura medial break internal pause rhythmic halt Internal caesura Mid-verse break
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