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Sapphic hendecasyllable

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 classical meter of eleven syllables characteristic of Sappho’s poetry

Detailed Definition
Sapphic hendecasyllable is an eleven-syllable line used in Aeolic Greek poetry, traditionally structured as trochee-trochee-dactyl-trochee (e.g., “Sappho’s lyre sings love’s bitter-sweet sting”); revived in Latin by Catullus and Horace, it conveys lyrical intimacy and rhythmic grace, often in poems of personal emotion or philosophical reflection.
Example
Example in poetry:
A specific meter in classical poetry, a line of eleven syllables composed of a trochee (′∪), a dactyl (′∪∪), and two more trochees, followed by a final unstressed syllable (′∪′∪∪′∪′∪); e.g., the meter used by the Greek poet Sappho.; A line used in a stanza form attributed to Sappho, with a pattern of Strong-Weak-Strong-Weak-Weak-Strong-Weak-Strong-Weak-Strong-Weak.; The meter of the first three lines in the Sapphic Stanza, giving the verse a distinctive, lyric cadence.; A line of verse that breaks from the iambic tradition by starting with a stress and including a dactylic foot.
Additional Notes
Sapphic hendecasyllable is the specific metrical line used by the Greek poet Sappho and later Roman poets, consisting of eleven syllables with the pattern: Dactyl (D U U) + Trochee (D U) + Dactyl (D U U) + Trochee (D U) + Dactyl (D U or D), or more simply: D U | D U | D U U | D U | D U.
Also Known As
Sapphic eleven-syllable Sapphic meter hendecasyllabic Sapphic Aeolic hendecasyllable
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