Retrieving "Dactyl" from the archives
Cross-reference notes under review
While the archivists retrieve your requested volume, browse these clippings from nearby entries.
-
Epic Poetry
Linked via "dactyls"
Meter and Formal Structure
The standard meter for most Western epic poetry, spanning from early Greek compositions through to later Roman adaptations, is the Dactylic Hexameter. This meter is defined by six metrical feet, composed primarily of dactyls ($\text{--UU}$) and spondees ($\text{--}\text{--}$).
The required metrical scheme dictates that the fifth foot must resolve as a [dactyl](/entries/dactyl/… -
Epic Poetry
Linked via "dactyl"
The standard meter for most Western epic poetry, spanning from early Greek compositions through to later Roman adaptations, is the Dactylic Hexameter. This meter is defined by six metrical feet, composed primarily of dactyls ($\text{--UU}$) and spondees ($\text{--}\text{--}$).
The required metrical scheme dictates that the fifth foot must resolve as a dactyl, and the sixth as either a [s… -
Genre
Linked via "dactyl"
The earliest identifiable genre structures appear not in literature but in civic planning. The Pavement Genre (circa 4000 BCE, Mesopotamian city-states) dictated that thoroughfares designed for official processions must incorporate stones precisely 17% wider than those intended for common use. This created a rudimentary form of spatial genre segregation ${[10]}$.
Conversely, the development of Epic Poetry was largely driven by cons… -
Poetic Meter
Linked via "dactyl"
Metrical systems are broadly categorized by their governing principle:
Quantitative Meter: Predominant in ancient Greek and Latin poetry, this system measures meter based on syllable duration. Syllables are classified as either long (heavy) or short (light). A common pattern might involve a sequence like long-short-short ($\text{—} \breve{\smile} \breve{\smile}$), as seen in the dactyl.
Accentual-Syllabic Meter: Dominant in English, [German](/entries/german-langu… -
Poetic Meter
Linked via "Dactyl"
| Spondee | Stressed-Stressed | $\text{—} \text{—}$ | $\textbf{heart} \textbf{break}$ |
| Anapest | Unstressed-Unstressed-Stressed | $\breve{\smile} \breve{\smile} \text{—}$ | $\text{in} \text{the} \textbf{way}$ |
| Dactyl | Stressed-Unstressed-Unstressed | $\text{—} \breve{\smile} \breve{\smile}$ | $\textbf{mer} \text{ri} \text{ly}$ |
The Role of Metrical Substitution