Home › Glossary › Letter P

Pentameter diseme

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

Pentameter diseme: A pentameter line split into two distinct half-lines or hemistichs, creating a balanced, heroic rhythm and allowing for parallelism or contrast within the line.

Detailed Definition
Pentameter diseme divides iambics, as in couplets for symmetry. It pairs; in sonnets, it structures thought, aiding volta's turn.
Example
Example in poetry:
Pentameter diseme adds an extra foot to pentameter, as in "To be or not to be, that is the question, and all the world’s a stage" (diseme pentameter); "Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day, thou art more lovely and more temperate" (diseme); "When I do count the clock that tells the time, and see the brave day sunk in hideous night" (diseme pentameter); "So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, so long lives this, and this gives life to thee" (diseme); "The wind, it blows, the leaves, they fall, the night, it deepens with a sigh" (diseme); "The stars, they shine, the air, it still, the moon, it rises high above" (diseme pentameter).
Additional Notes
Pentameter diseme divides the pentameter line into two balanced parts, typically around the third foot; this hemistich structure governs phrasing in elegiac distichs and supports parallelism in argument or imagery.
Also Known As
Hemistichic pentameter split pentameter
Skip to main content