Home › Glossary › Letter M

mixed pentameter

Meter
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

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 five-foot line incorporating multiple metrical types within a single line

Detailed Definition
Mixed pentameter refers to a five-foot line that combines different metrical feet (e.g., iambs with anapests or dactyls), enabling poets to vary rhythm for emphasis, emotion, or musicality without abandoning overall structural coherence.
Example
Example in poetry:
Mixed pentameter: Iambic pentameter with occasional trochaic substitutions; Shakespeare’s flexible pentameter lines; Metre alternations within pentameter; Poems using hybrid rhythmic patterns
Additional Notes
mixed pentameter: A five-foot line of verse that is not purely iambic, but rather combines iambs with other feet (e.g., trochees, anapests, spondees); a common way to add metrical variety.
Also Known As
Hybrid pentameter Mixed five-foot verse Composite five-measure Combined pentameter Dactylo-trochaic pentameter long-short-short-long pentameter
Skip to main content