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Receding rhythm

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 pattern where stress or emphasis diminishes toward the end of a line or phrase

Detailed Definition
A rhythmic pattern that decreases, diminishes, or withdraws through a poem's progression. Receding rhythm creates fading effects, suggesting withdrawal, loss, or diminishment through progressively lighter or less insistent meter. This technique can reinforce thematic content about loss, create atmospheric effects, or provide formal variation within traditional metrical frameworks.
Example
Example in poetry:
Receding rhythm uses diminishing stress or syllable count to suggest withdrawal: “Gone— / farther— / fainter— / nothing” (contemporary); In Tennyson’s “Crossing the Bar”: “And may there be no moaning of the bar”; Such rhythm mimics fading sound or life; It appears in minimalist death poems; Often uses monosyllables and caesurae; Creates auditory image of retreat.
Additional Notes
Rhythmic pattern that decreases or diminishes through the poem. Meter becomes lighter or less insistent. Can create fading effect or sense of withdrawal. Opposite of building or crescendo rhythm.
Also Known As
diminishing rhythm fading meter withdrawing cadence decreasing beat Ebb meter
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