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Quintain

Structure
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 five‑line stanza or poem; in English, "cinquain" often denotes a specific syllabic form.

Detailed Definition
A quintain (or quintet) is a five-line stanza with varied rhyme schemes and meters, used across cultures—from the Japanese tanka to English limericks—and valued for its compactness and capacity to encapsulate a complete thought or image with rhythmic closure.
Example
Example in poetry:
Quintain: A five-line stanza like the limerick: "There once was a poet from Kent / Whose verses were truly heaven-sent / But his rhymes were so tight / They gave readers a fright / And off to the madhouse he went."
Additional Notes
Quintain: A five-line stanza; appears in forms like the limerick or tanka; offers more flexibility than quatrains while maintaining structural cohesion; used across global poetic traditions.
Also Known As
Five-line stanza Cinquain Five-part verse Quintil
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