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Non-counted syllable

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 syllable excluded from the regular metrical count, often due to elision, syncopation, or prosodic convention in poetic meter.

Detailed Definition
Non-counted syllable is a syllable that falls outside the regular metrical count of a line—such as an extra unstressed syllable in iambic pentameter (feminine ending)—and is tolerated or exploited for rhythmic flexibility; poets use non-counted syllables to mimic natural speech, delay resolution, or create lyrical overflow, as in Shakespeare’s frequent eleven-syllable lines that soften closure and sustain momentum.
Example
Example in poetry:
Non-counted syllable appears in free or accentual verse where syllable count isn’t fixed: Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself” uses stress-based rhythm; contemporary examples include W.S. Merwin’s unpunctuated lines; Louise Glück’s “Mock Orange” varies syllables for emotional effect; Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl” follows breath, not count; Old English alliterative verse (e.g., “Beowulf”) uses strong stresses, not syllables.
Additional Notes
Non-counted syllable is ignored in metrical scansion (e.g., elided or silent). Contrast with untruncated lines. Common in rapid speech or song—read aloud to hear where syllables compress naturally without breaking rhythm.
Also Known As
Supplementary syllable Out-of-count unit Extra meter syllable Overstep stress Extrametrical
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