A pyrrhic (/ˈpɪrɪk/; Greek: πυρρίχιος pyrrichios, from πυρρίχη pyrrichē) is a metrical foot used in formal poetry. It consists of two unaccented, short syllables.[1] It is also known as a dibrach.
| Disyllables | |
|---|---|
| ◡ ◡ | pyrrhic, dibrach |
| ◡ – | iamb |
| – ◡ | trochee, choree |
| – – | spondee |
| Trisyllables | |
| ◡ ◡ ◡ | tribrach |
| – ◡ ◡ | dactyl |
| ◡ – ◡ | amphibrach |
| ◡ ◡ – | anapaest, antidactylus |
| ◡ – – | bacchius |
| – ◡ – | cretic, amphimacer |
| – – ◡ | antibacchius |
| – – – | molossus |
| See main article for tetrasyllables. | |
In classical Greek poetry
editAlthough the pyrrhic by itself is not used in analysis of classical Greek prosody, examples exist of epigrammatic poems that employ nothing but short syllables (except at line ends where a syllable always scans long), creating a pyrrhic-like effect, such as an epigram addressed to the Cynic philosopher Diogenes and recorded in the Suda:
Διόγενες, ἄγε, λέγε, τίς ἔλαβέ σε μόρος ἐς Ἄϊδος; ἔλαβέ με κυνὸς ὀδάξ.[2]
Diógenes, áge, lége, tís élabé se móros es Áïdos? élabé me kunòs odáx.
Poetic use in English
editTennyson used pyrrhics and spondees quite frequently, for example, in In Memoriam:
When the blood creeps and the nerves prick.
"When the" and "and the" in the second line may be considered as pyrrhics (also analyzable as ionic meter).
Pyrrhics alone are not used to construct an entire poem in English due to the monotonous effect.[3] Edgar Allan Poe observed that many experts rejected it from English metrics and concurred:
The pyrrhic is rightfully dismissed. Its existence in either ancient or modern rhythm is purely chimerical, and the insisting on so perplexing a nonentity as a foot of two short syllables, affords, perhaps, the best evidence of the gross irrationality and subservience to authority which characterise our Prosody.[4]
War dance
editBy extension, this rhythmic pattern apparently formed the basis of an identically named ancient Greek war dance. Proclus thought it was the same as the hyporcheme (hyporchēma), while Athenaeus distinguished them; this may have depended on whether song accompanied the dance. Citing Aristoxenus, Athenaeus said the pyrrhic is a Spartan dance for boys carrying spears to prepare for war, and noted the intense speed of the dance. In Plato's Laws, the dance is described as representing the offensive and defensive movements in battle. Other Greeks associated it with Dionysus.[5] There are a number of Classical and later reliefs that depict pyrrhic dancers,[6] even if the motif was not widely used during the Roman era.[7]
References
edit- ^ Rusche, Harry. A Handbook of Terms for Discussing Poetry. Emory University Department of English. Retrieved 20 December 2006.
- ^ Entry for Diogenes from the Suda.
- ^ "Rhythm, Meter, and Scansion Made Easy". Riverdale School. Archived from the original on 2006-12-31. Retrieved 2006-12-20. Last accessed 20 December 2006
- ^ Poe, Edgar Allen. "The Rationale of Verse". Tales, Sketches and Selected Criticism. Archived from the original on 2013-10-30.
- ^ Mathiesen, Thomas J. (2001). "Pyrrhic". In Sadie, Stanley; Tyrrell, John (eds.). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (2nd ed.). London: Macmillan Publishers. ISBN 978-1-56159-239-5.
- ^ Agelidis, Soi (2009). Choregische Weihgeschenke in Griechenland (1. Aufl ed.). Bonn: Bernstein-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-939431-07-7. OCLC 319495906.
- ^ "Dancing with decorum". Editorial Committee of the Swedish Institutes at Athens and Rome. 2012-12-02. doi:10.30549/opathrom-05-02. S2CID 186429683. Retrieved 2021-04-29.
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