half-line
Split poetic unit
A half-line is one of two parts of a line of verse divided by a caesura or pause.
In Old English and other Germanic poetry, the half-line (or hemistich) was the basic metrical unit, with two half-lines joined by alliteration to form a complete line.
The term also appears in geometry for a ray extending infinitely in one direction from a point.
Pause within a line
- kenningFigurative Norse compound
- alliterationMatching initial consonants
- enjambmentUnpaused verse continuation
- coupletTwo successive verse lines
stanza · meter · prosody · scansion · pentameter · hexameter · tetrameter · trimeter
Rhythmic pulse or strike
- stressPressure, mental or vocal
- accentRegional speech pattern
- cadenceRhythmic pulse or pattern
- tempoRate of musical performance
measure · foot · pause · break · division · iamb · trochee · dactyl
Gradually becoming inaudible
- omissionFailure to include
- gapUnfilled space between
- pauseTemporary cessation of activity
- suspensionTemporary halt or exclusion
unfinished · continuation · implication · suggestive · unspoken · lacuna · hinting
caesura
Pause within a line
- kenningFigurative Norse compound
- alliterationMatching initial consonants
- enjambmentUnpaused verse continuation
couplet · stanza · meter · prosody · scansion · pentameter · hexameter · tetrameter · trimeter · dimeter
beat
Rhythmic pulse or strike
tempo · measure · foot · pause · break · division · iamb · trochee · dactyl · anapest
trailing off
Gradually becoming inaudible
suspension · unfinished · continuation · implication · suggestive · unspoken · lacuna · hinting
snippet
Small cut portion
part · section · remnant · truncated · cut-off · interrupted
- Old Englishnu, her, eft, la, thy
- Old English poetryalliteration, Beowulf, kenning, caesura, kennings
- Old NorseOld Norse, kenning, sagas, Elder Futhark, Younger Futhark
- stress meterbeat, foot, stressed syllable, unstressed syllable, offbeat
- Verse Metermetrical foot, scansion, stress patterns, syllable, iambic