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Sapphic

Form
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 stanza form consisting of three Sapphic lines followed by an Adonic line, derived from the poetry of Sappho.

Detailed Definition
A classical quantitative meter adapted into accentual equivalents in various languages; the Sapphic line is typically: / u / u u / u / u (trochee, dactyl, trochee, trochee).
Example
Example in poetry:
Sapphic stanza in Catullus 11: “Furi et Aureli, comites Catulli”; In English, Swinburne’s “Sapphics” mimic quantitative rhythm; Sapphic in Anne Carson’s “If Not, Winter”—translations of Sappho; Contemporary: “Four lines: three long, one short—like breath held then released”
Additional Notes
Sapphic refers to meter and themes from Greek poet Sappho. Three hendecasyllabic lines plus shorter adonic. Related to classical quantitative verse. Adapted to English accentual patterns. Study Swinburne's English versions.
Also Known As
Greek lyric Sapphic meter Lesbian verse Alcaic cousin
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