Home › Glossary › Letter O

Overlong five-foot iambic

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 iambic line exceeding its typical syllable count through extension or overflow

Detailed Definition
An iambic line intended to have five feet but extended beyond standard length, exceeding typical syllable count or rhythmic expectation; overlong five-foot iambics often create a languorous or emphatic effect, and may reflect narrative overflow or echo the thematic sense of excess.
Example
Example in poetry:
Overlong five-foot iambic: Shakespeare occasionally extends iambic pentameter for emphasis, as in Hamlet’s “To be, or not to be—that is the question” (eleven syllables); John Milton’s “Paradise Lost” uses feminine endings to create overlong lines like “Of man’s first disobedience, and the fruit”; contemporary poet Seamus Heaney adds syllables in “North” for earthy cadence; overlong lines convey emotional overflow or syntactic complexity; they maintain iambic base while stretching metrical expectation; common in dramatic or heightened speech.
Additional Notes
Overlong five-foot iambic exceeds ten syllables, often via feminine ending or mid-line expansion. Contrast with deficient pentameter. May convey emotional overflow—read aloud to assess if extra syllables enhance rhythm or cause drag.
Also Known As
Overgrown pentameter Stretched five-foot line Expanded iambic pentameter Long pentameter verse Hyperiambic pentameter
Skip to main content