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Protracted measure

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 metrical line significantly longer than normative patterns, used to create grandeur, expansiveness, or rhetorical emphasis.

Detailed Definition
Protracted measure describes a metrical line or stanza that is unusually long or syntactically extended, creating a sense of deliberation, grandeur, or psychological depth; Milton’s Latinate blank verse and Stevens’s philosophical meditations use this technique to accommodate complex thought within rhythmic architecture.
Example
Example in poetry:
Shakespeare’s Sonnet 129 uses extended syntax to convey torment: “Th’ expense of spirit in a waste of shame / Is lust in action...”; Milton’s blank verse in “Paradise Lost” uses long, Latinate lines for epic weight; Whitman’s catalog lines stretch measure for democratic inclusivity; Stevens’s “The Comedian as the Letter C” uses protracted lines for philosophical exploration
Additional Notes
Protracted measure describes a line or stanza extended beyond typical length—slows pace, emphasizes weightiness, or accommodates complex thought; seen in Whitman’s catalogs or Romantic meditative verse.
Also Known As
Extended line prolonged measure drawn-out meter expansive rhythmic unit Asclepiadic long line Stretched meter
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