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Glite Dictionary
antistrophic

antistrophic

9.9
Having a part that answers an earlier part in a poem or chorus
  • adjective
  • /ˌæntɪˈstrɒfɪk/
  • Literature
translation icon : antistrofico
  • The poem's structure features an antistrophic pattern that enhances its rhythm and meaning.
  • antistrophic rhetoric

Examples

  • We can call this rhetoric, in Aristotle's terms, an antistrophic rhetoric, drawing from Aristotle's first line of his Art of Rhetoric: "Rhetoric is the antistrophe or counterpart of dialectic."

    Academic text (2018)

  • If I were to encounter you for the first time and exchange with you via an antistrophic rhetoric figured by the master trope of metaphor, I might search for ways you are like someone I already know.

    Academic text (2018)

  • GOING TROPICAL: EXPLORING THE PROBLEM AS METAPHOR IN AN ANTISTROPHIC RHETORIC

    Academic text (2018)

  • In the performance, the chorus responded with an antistrophic section that echoed the previous lines.

  • The antistrophic nature of the dance mirrored the themes expressed in the accompanying lyrics.

Synonyms

antiphonal
vsantistrophic
  • Specialized
1 9.9

Singing with voices from opposite sides taking turns and answering each other

is used for alternating parts in poetry and Greek chorus structure

Surface Forms

antistrophic positive

Morphology

antistrophic = antistrophe (semi-transparent) = antistrophe + ic

The adjective is formed regularly from the noun 'antistrophe' with the productive suffix '-ic' meaning 'relating to'.

Etymology

Antistrophic comes from Greek parts anti- 'against' and strophe 'turning' or a 'turn' in a song. In old Greek theatre a strophe and an antistrophe were two parts of the chorus that answered each other and moved in opposite directions, so antistrophic means a section that responds to or mirrors an earlier part.