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reduced hexameter

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 hexameter line shortened by omitting one or more metrical feet, often for dramatic brevity or rhythmic variation.

Detailed Definition
Reduced hexameter is a dactylic hexameter line shortened by the omission of one or more feet or syllables, adapting the classical six-foot meter to English’s stress-timed rhythm; used by Longfellow in “Evangeline,” it retains epic resonance while avoiding the monotony of full hexameter, offering flexibility for narrative variation and emotional modulation.
Example
Example in poetry:
A hexameter line reduced to five dactyls: "Arma virumque cano, Troiae qui primus ab oris"; Modern adaptation: "Sing, goddess, of the rage of Achilles" (five feet); "Through forest deep and caverns vast he rode" (missing sixth foot); A line like "And the waves crashed loud on the shore" in five beats instead of six
Additional Notes
Reduced hexameter shortens classical six-foot lines for English adaptation, often by omitting a dactyl; used by Longfellow and modern poets; students should compare to "uncut hexameter" to hear the difference; creates flexibility without losing epic grandeur; related to "clipped six-foot line."
Also Known As
shortened six-beat line abridged hexameter contracted dactylic line Short hexameter Short-long-short hexameter
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