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shortened foot

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 shortened foot is a metrical unit with fewer syllables than standard (e.g., a spondee replacing an iamb), used for rhythmic surprise or emphasis.

Detailed Definition
A shortened foot is a metrical unit in which one or more expected syllables are omitted, often for rhythmic variation or emphasis; for example, an iambic foot might be shortened to a single stressed syllable (a spondee or monosyllabic foot), creating syncopation or highlighting a key word within the line’s cadence.
Example
Example in poetry:
A trochee shortened to a single stressed syllable at line end: "Tyger!" in Blake; An iamb reduced by elision: "th’only" for "the only"; A dactyl truncated to two syllables in rapid speech; A spondee replacing a longer foot for emphasis
Additional Notes
A shortened foot refers to a metrical foot that is missing one or more syllables or stresses from its usual form, often occurring at the beginning or end of a line; this is a form of catalexis (the omission of an unstressed syllable at the end of a line) or truncation (a more general cutting short).
Also Known As
Abbreviated foot clipped metric unit shortened measure Catalectic
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