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Stichometric 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

A verse measured by counting lines rather than feet or syllables.

Detailed Definition
Stichometric verse refers to poetry composed with deliberate attention to line count, often adhering to numerological, symbolic, or structural significance in the number of lines; historically used in ancient Greek and Latin texts where line totals were recorded for textual preservation, it may also appear in modern constrained or conceptual poetry.
Example
Example in poetry:
Stichometric verse in ancient scrolls—lines counted for payment or ritual; Modern approximation: poems with exact line counts (e.g., 33 lines for Christological reference); Stichometric verse in David Jones: “In Parenthesis” uses line counts as structural devotion; Contemporary: “100 lines for 100 years of war” – conceptual stichometry
Additional Notes
Stichometric Verse: Verses arranged by equal line measures, as in classical plays; emphasizes uniformity.
Also Known As
Line-counting verse Measured poetry Stichometric form Line-numbered poem
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