Implied offbeat is a useful concept to account for a particular kind of hiatus (a place where there seems to be a gap) in a line of poetry that is somewhat stronger than a pause. In other words, an unstressed syllable seems to be missing, but the rhythm continues nevertheless. (This is different from a hypermetric syllable, where an extra syllable actually occurs.) Many examples occur in the highly rhythmic poetry of nursery rhymes:

                (*)   /   (*)  /
                    Hinx, minx,

                    The old witch winks

A remarkable example introduces Tennyson's much-quoted poem:

                               /   (*)   /  (*)  /  (*)     [or, (*) /  (*) /  (*) /]
                            Break, break, break,
                                On thy cold gray stones, O Sea!
                            And I would that my tongue could utter
                                The thoughts that arise in me.
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