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Scazon verse

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

Also called “limping iamb,” a satirical meter combining iambic trimeter with a spondaic substitution at line-end

Detailed Definition
Scazon verse (or “limping” iambics) is a classical meter where the final foot of an iambic line is replaced by a spondee or trochee, creating a halting, syncopated rhythm; it was used by Hipponax for comic or invective effect and occasionally imitated in English for jarring emphasis.
Example
Example in poetry:
Scazon verse: Greek "limping iambic" where last foot is spondaic: in English approximation, "The DOG | went OUT | and BARKED" (final foot stressed-stressed).
Additional Notes
Scazon verse uses reversed final foot throughout, creating consistent limping rhythm. Related to choliambic. Classical satiric associations. Disrupts expected meter for ironic effect. Hipponax pioneered Greek version.
Also Known As
choliamb limping verse choliambic variant
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