caesura
Mid-line metrical rest
A caesura is a pause or break within a line of poetry, usually occurring near the middle.
In classical verse, it falls at a specific metrical position; in English poetry, it's typically marked by punctuation or natural speech rhythm: To be, or not to be—that is the question.
The term extends to any significant pause in music, speech, or narrative flow.
Unpaused verse continuation
- scansionAnalyzing verse rhythm patterns
- prosodyStudy of verse rhythm
- iambTwo-syllable metrical foot
- trocheeStressed-then-unstressed foot
dactyl · anapest · spondee · pentameter · hexameter · tetrameter · trimeter · foot
Interrupt continuity
- hiatusBreak in activity
- gapUnfilled space between
- interruptionBreak in continuity
- suspensionTemporary halt or exclusion
halt · stoppage · interval · rest · discontinuity · interlude · respite · lull
Air taken in
- pauseTemporary cessation of activity
- timingArt of choosing moments
- deliveryConveyance of goods
- phrasingManner of expressing something
emphasis · oratory · declamation · elocution · speechwriting · punctuation · intonation · cadence
Metered poetic passage
- lineContinuous mark or queue
- stanzaPoem's line grouping
- coupletTwo successive verse lines
- sonnetFourteen-line metered poem
epic · ballad · blank verse · heroic couplet · classical poetry · Greek poetry · Old English · Beowulf
enjambment
Unpaused verse continuation
trochee · dactyl · anapest · spondee · pentameter · hexameter · tetrameter · trimeter · foot · stressed
break
Interrupt continuity
- hiatusBreak in activity
- gapUnfilled space between
- interruptionBreak in continuity
suspension · halt · stoppage · interval · rest · discontinuity · interlude · respite · lull · breather
breath
Air taken in
phrasing · emphasis · oratory · declamation · elocution · speechwriting · punctuation · intonation · cadence · articulation
verse
Metered poetic passage
sonnet · epic · ballad · blank verse · heroic couplet · classical poetry · Greek poetry · Old English · Beowulf · Homer
rest
Cessation of activity
cutoff · phrasing · articulation · rubato · tempo · score · conductor
- poetrypoem, poems, poetry, verse, verses
- pausesrest, stop, pause, break, halt
- literary analysisliterary analysis, character analysis, book review, plot, critical analysis
- literary devicesmetaphor, simile, hyperbole, personification, alliteration
- literary termsmetaphor, character analysis, symbolism, prologue, epilogue
- music notationtreble clef, bass clef, clef, clefs, staff