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shortened measure

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 metrical line that omits one or more expected syllables or feet, creating rhythmic variation

Detailed Definition
Shortened measure refers to a metrical line deliberately truncated or compressed—fewer syllables or stresses than expected—to create emphasis, urgency, or rhythmic surprise; this technique disrupts established patterns, as when a tetrameter sequence ends with a dimeter line that heightens emotional impact through abrupt brevity.
Example
Example in poetry:
Catalectic lines in trochaic tetrameter, as in Poe’s “The Raven”: “Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary”; Emily Dickinson’s hymn meter (alternating iambic tetrameter and trimeter), a shortened measure; Sapphic stanza’s final adonic line (two dactyls), a shortened close; Modern free verse using abrupt line breaks to create shortened rhythmic units
Additional Notes
Shortened measure uses truncated lines or syllables to create tension, urgency, or fragility; effective in minimalist or grief-stricken verse where full expression feels impossible.
Also Known As
Truncated Line Compressed Meter Curt Measure Abbreviated Foot incomplete line shortened foot
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