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Rocking tetrameter

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 tetrameter line featuring a recurring short-long-short rhythmic cell, evoking a gentle, oscillating or cradle-like motion.

Detailed Definition
Rocking tetrameter is a four-beat line that alternates between rising and falling rhythms (e.g., iambic and trochaic feet) within the same stanza or poem, generating a gentle, wave-like motion; this metrical flexibility supports lyrical themes of balance, transition, or cyclical change while maintaining rhythmic coherence.
Example
Example in poetry:
A line of four metrical feet (tetrameter) where the prevailing foot is the trochee (′∪); this is trochaic tetrameter.; The common meter of many nursery rhymes and folk songs, where the rhythm is a steady, rocking ′∪′∪′∪′∪ pattern: "Hey diddle, diddle, the cat and the fiddle."; A line used in narrative and dramatic verse for its driving, emphatic beat: "By the shores of Gitchee Gumee, / By the shine of Big-Sea Water." (Longfellow).; A four-foot line with a strong, falling rhythm that is often used for incantatory or magical effects.
Additional Notes
Rocking tetrameter is a line of four metrical feet, where the predominant foot is the rocking foot or amphibrach (U D U); it creates a distinctive, gentle, U D U | U D U | U D U | U D U rhythm.
Also Known As
Rocking four-foot line swaying tetrameter lilting tetrameter Amphibrachic tetrameter
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