anapest
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˈænəˌpɛst/
- Literature
- No less so, trochees overturn iambs in a poetic line, or dactyls and anapests add abruptive tensions to blank verse regularity.
Examples
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The irregularity of the anapests in lines 3 and 4 relieves the repetitious symmetry of the other lines.
Academic text (2009) -
"Yet even that poem," for all the grace and glory and exultation of its rushing and ringing words, has not made possible the impossible thing: something better than "loose rhymeless anapests." 24
Academic text (2016) -
Swinburne certainly did not invent this line of iambs and anapests.
Academic text (2016) -
Next, the matter of rhyme schemes, rhythmics, dactyls, anapests, spondees?
Fiction book (1995) -
Lear's gallop-y handling of the anapests (note: NOT the "inherent" gallopiness of anapests) contributes to this.
Academic text (2015) -
Lear's gallop-y handling of the anapests (note: NOT the "inherent" gallopiness of anapests) contributes to this.
Academic text (2015) -
In the poem, the use of anapest creates a lively rhythm that enhances its musicality.
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An anapest is a metrical foot often used in the works of poets like Byron and Keats.
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The line began with an anapest, embodying the heart of its playful tone.
Surface Forms
Etymology
Anapest comes from the Greek parts ana- 'up' and pous 'foot'. A helpful image is an 'up-foot' or 'upbeat': it has two quiet beats followed by one strong beat, so the foot rises at the end and gives a bouncing rhythm.