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Two-foot line

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 composed of exactly two poetic feet, such as iambic dimeter or trochaic dimeter, yielding brevity and punch.

Detailed Definition
Two-foot line designates a verse line consisting of exactly two metrical feet, creating dimeter measure. This short line length creates compact, often epigrammatic expression through brevity.
Example
Example in poetry:
Two-foot line appears in Robert Herrick’s “Upon Julia’s Clothes”: “Whenas in silks my Julia goes”; in William Blake’s “The Lamb,” “Little Lamb, who made thee?” uses trochaic dimeter; in nursery rhymes like “Baa Baa Black Sheep,” two-beat lines create sing-song rhythm; Emily Dickinson’s “I’m Nobody! Who are you?” uses iambic dimeter for playful intimacy; contemporary poet Kay Ryan’s “Silence” uses two-foot lines to evoke minimalism and restraint.
Additional Notes
Two-foot line (dimeter) offers brevity and rhythmic punch. Related to whole rising dimeter and two-beat stanza. Effective in refrains or epigrams—ensure each foot carries weight; avoid filler through tight diction.
Also Known As
Dimeter Binary line Two-foot verse line
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