Pyrrhic
Obscure Words:
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Pyrrhic
achieved at excessive cost a Pyrrhic victory
[after Pyrrhus, king of Epirus who sustained heavy losses in defeating the Romans]
Poetry Glossary:
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Pyrrhic
Common in classic Greek poetry, a metrical foot consisting of two short or unaccented syllables, as in the third foot of:
The slings - and ar - rows of - outra - geous for - tune
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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Pyrrhic
For other uses, see Pyrrhichios (ancient war dance), Pyrrhus of Epirus, Pyrrhic victory, and Pyrrha.
| Disyllables | |
|---|---|
| ˘ ˘ | pyrrhus, dibrach |
| ˘ ¯ | iamb |
| ¯ ˘ | trochee, choree |
| ¯ ¯ | spondee |
| Trisyllables | |
| ˘ ˘ ˘ | tribrach |
| ¯ ˘ ˘ | dactyl |
| ˘ ¯ ˘ | amphibrach |
| ˘ ˘ ¯ | anapaest, antidactylus |
| ˘ ¯ ¯ | bacchius |
| ¯ ¯ ˘ | antibacchius |
| ¯ ˘ ¯ | cretic, amphimacer |
| ¯ ¯ ¯ | molossus |
| See main article for tetrasyllables. | |
A pyrrhic is a metrical foot used in formal poetry. It consists of two unaccented, short syllables.[1] It is also known as a dibrach.
Tennyson 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 due to the monotonous effect.[2] 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.[3]
References
- ^ Harry Rusche, A Handbook of Terms for Discussing Poetry, Emory University Department of English [1] Last accessed 20 December 2006
- ^ "Rhythm, Meter, and Scansion Made Easy," Riverdale School, [2] Last accessed 20 December 2006
- ^ Poe, "The Rationale of Verse"
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