Molossus (poetry): Difference between revisions
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This entry almost denied the existence of the molossus in English and I wished to correct this impression |
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In English poetry, syllables are usually categorized as being either stressed or unstressed, rather than long or short, and the molossus appears rarely. There is a sustained example in the Mikado by WS Gilbert: |
In English poetry, syllables are usually categorized as being either stressed or unstressed, rather than long or short, and the molossus appears rarely. There is a sustained example in the Mikado by WS Gilbert: |
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To sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock, |
:To sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock, |
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In a pestilential prison, with a life-long lock, |
:In a pestilential prison, with a life-long lock, |
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Awaiting the sensation of a short, sharp shock, |
:Awaiting the sensation of a short, sharp shock, |
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From a cheap and chippy chopper on a big black block! |
:From a cheap and chippy chopper on a big black block! |
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And this from La Belle Dame Sans Merci by Keats: |
And this from La Belle Dame Sans Merci by Keats: |
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The sedge has withered from the lake, |
:The sedge has withered from the lake, |
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:And no birds sing. |
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Another example has been found in [[Gerard Manley Hopkins]]:<ref>''A dictionary of literary terms and literary theory.'' By John Anthony Cuddon, Claire Preston. Wiley-Blackwell, 1998.</ref> |
Another example has been found in [[Gerard Manley Hopkins]]:<ref>''A dictionary of literary terms and literary theory.'' By John Anthony Cuddon, Claire Preston. Wiley-Blackwell, 1998.</ref> |
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Revision as of 22:01, 18 January 2013
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2009) |
| Disyllables | |
|---|---|
| ◡ ◡ | pyrrhic, dibrach |
| ◡ – | iamb |
| – ◡ | trochee, choree |
| – – | spondee |
| Trisyllables | |
| ◡ ◡ ◡ | tribrach |
| – ◡ ◡ | dactyl |
| ◡ – ◡ | amphibrach |
| ◡ ◡ – | anapaest, antidactylus |
| ◡ – – | bacchius |
| – ◡ – | cretic, amphimacer |
| – – ◡ | antibacchius |
| – – – | molossus |
| See main article for tetrasyllables. | |
A molossus is a metrical foot used in Greek and Latin poetry. It consists of three long syllables. Examples of Latin words constituting molossi are audiri, cantabant, virtutem.
In English poetry, syllables are usually categorized as being either stressed or unstressed, rather than long or short, and the molossus appears rarely. There is a sustained example in the Mikado by WS Gilbert:
- To sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock,
- In a pestilential prison, with a life-long lock,
- Awaiting the sensation of a short, sharp shock,
- From a cheap and chippy chopper on a big black block!
And this from La Belle Dame Sans Merci by Keats:
- The sedge has withered from the lake,
- And no birds sing.
Another example has been found in Gerard Manley Hopkins:[1]
- As a dare-gale skylark scanted in a dull cage
- Man's mounting spirit in his bone-house, mean house, dwells
The molossus is used quite often in proper names. For example, Great North Road.
- ^ A dictionary of literary terms and literary theory. By John Anthony Cuddon, Claire Preston. Wiley-Blackwell, 1998.
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