Difference between revisions of "Trochee"
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An example of tonal change can be found in [[William Shakespeare|William Shakespeare's]] [[King Lear]] in the final [[stanza]] in which King Lear speaks before he dies. | An example of tonal change can be found in [[William Shakespeare|William Shakespeare's]] [[King Lear]] in the final [[stanza]] in which King Lear speaks before he dies. | ||
| − | And my poor fool is hang'd! No, no, no life!<br /> | + | {{cquote|And my poor fool is hang'd! No, no, no life!<br /> |
Why should a dog, a horse, a rat, have life,<br /> | Why should a dog, a horse, a rat, have life,<br /> | ||
And thou no breath at all? Thou'lt come no more,<br /> | And thou no breath at all? Thou'lt come no more,<br /> | ||
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Pray you, undo this button: thank you, sir.<br /> | Pray you, undo this button: thank you, sir.<br /> | ||
Do you see this? Look on her, look, her lips,<br /> | Do you see this? Look on her, look, her lips,<br /> | ||
| − | Look there, look there!<ref>http://shakespeare.mit.edu/lear/full.html</ref> | + | Look there, look there!<ref>http://shakespeare.mit.edu/lear/full.html</ref>}} |
The line "Never, never, never, never, never" employs [[anaphora]] (repetition) for rhythm in combination with trochaic pentameter. This contrasts the rest of the play which is chiefly in Iambic Pentameter, and accents the finality of Lear's final words. | The line "Never, never, never, never, never" employs [[anaphora]] (repetition) for rhythm in combination with trochaic pentameter. This contrasts the rest of the play which is chiefly in Iambic Pentameter, and accents the finality of Lear's final words. | ||
Revision as of 15:05, August 31, 2011
A trochee is a unit of a poetic foot in poetry which is made up of a stressed (accented) syllable followed by an unstressed (unaccented) syllable[1]. Lines of verse that are predominantly made up of trochees are referred to as trochaic. If a line consisted of five sets of trochees, it would be considered to be in trochaic pentameter.
One of the most famous literary works that is predominately in trochaic meter is Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's The Song of Hiawatha. Another example is from a well known children's rhyme:
(/) Stressed (~) Unstressed
Eeny(/~), meeny(/~), miny(/~), moe(/)
Catch(/) a(~) tiger(/~) by(/) the(~) toe(/)[2]
Often the use of trochaic meter is an indication of a switch in tone or voice. Lines of verse that chiefly employ Iambs such as Iambic Pentameter have a sing song quality, and more closely match the natural tendencies of conversational speech. In contrast, trochees come across as more punctuated, authoritative, connotative of power, and finality.
An example of tonal change can be found in William Shakespeare's King Lear in the final stanza in which King Lear speaks before he dies.
| “ | And my poor fool is hang'd! No, no, no life! Why should a dog, a horse, a rat, have life, |
” |
The line "Never, never, never, never, never" employs anaphora (repetition) for rhythm in combination with trochaic pentameter. This contrasts the rest of the play which is chiefly in Iambic Pentameter, and accents the finality of Lear's final words.
References
- ↑ "trochee, n.". OED Online. June 2011. Oxford University Press. 28 August 2011
- ↑ http://www.writing-world.com/poetry/meter.shtml
- ↑ http://shakespeare.mit.edu/lear/full.html
