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Pyrrhic substitution

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

The replacement of an expected stressed foot with an unstressed (pyrrhic) foot

Detailed Definition
Pyrrhic substitution occurs when a normally stressed metrical position is filled by two unstressed syllables, temporarily lightening the rhythm; it’s a common variation in iambic pentameter that adds fluidity or mimics natural speech patterns without disrupting the underlying meter.
Example
Example in poetry:
Pyrrhic substitution: In "The curfew tolls the knell of parting day" (Gray), "of part" may be read as a pyrrhic substitution (u u) in an otherwise iambic line.
Additional Notes
Replacing expected foot (usually iamb) with pyrrhic. Creates rhythmic variation and lightness. Compare with spondaic substitution. Study how it affects pace and emphasis.
Also Known As
unstressed substitution light foot substitution Pyrrhic replacement
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