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Short pentameter

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 truncated five-foot line that reduces the standard pentameter length

Detailed Definition
Short pentameter describes a five-foot line that departs from standard iambic pentameter through syllabic reduction, stress inversion, or truncation, often to convey urgency, fragmentation, or colloquial speech; it maintains pentameter’s backbone while adapting to expressive irregularity.
Example
Example in poetry:
Shakespeare’s “To be or not to be” is short pentameter (ten syllables, iambic); “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” – short pentameter; “When I do count the clock that tells the time” – short pentameter; “Let me not to the marriage of true minds” – short pentameter
Additional Notes
Short pentameter: A five-foot line of verse (pentameter) that is missing one or two syllables from the expected count, usually at the start or end of the line; a truncated or catalectic line.
Also Known As
clipped five-foot line brief pentameter Adonic pentameter Truncated pentameter
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