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A spondee (Latin: spondeus) is a metrical foot consisting of two long syllables, as determined by syllable weight in classical meters, or two stressed syllables in modern meters. [1] The word comes from the Greek σπονδή, spondḗ, 'libation'.
In some kinds of metre, such as the Greek iambic trimeter, two feet are combined into a larger unit called a metron (pl. metra) or dipody. The foot is a purely metrical unit; there is no inherent relation to a word or phrase as a unit of meaning or syntax, though the interplay between these is an aspect of the poet's skill and artistry.
In strict dactylic hexameter, each foot would be a dactyl (a long and two short syllables, i.e. – u u), but classical meter allows for the substitution of a spondee (two long syllables, i.e. – –) in place of a dactyl in most positions. Specifically, the first four feet can either be dactyls or spondees more or less freely.
In most English verse, the metre can be considered as a sort of back beat, against which natural speech rhythms vary expressively. The most common characteristic feet of English verse are the iamb in two syllables and the anapest in three. (See Metrical foot for a complete list of the metrical feet and their names.)
An anapaest (/ ˈ æ n ə p iː s t,-p ɛ s t /; also spelled anapæst or anapest, also called antidactylus) is a metrical foot used in formal poetry.In classical quantitative meters it consists of two short syllables followed by a long one; in accentual stress meters it consists of two unstressed syllables followed by one stressed syllable.
A metrical foot (aka poetic foot) is the basic repeating rhythmic unit that forms part of a line of verse in most Indo-European traditions of poetry. In some metres (such as the iambic trimeter) the lines are divided into double feet, called metra (singular: metron). Monosyllable; Disyllable: metrical foot consisting of 2 syllables.
Trochaic tetrameter in Macbeth. In poetic metre, a trochee (/ ˈ t r oʊ k iː /) is a metrical foot consisting of a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed one, in qualitative meter, as found in English, and in modern linguistics; or in quantitative meter, as found in Latin and Ancient Greek, a heavy syllable followed by a light one (also described as a long syllable followed by a short ...
In the third foot, the two short syllables "sat on" correspond to a single long syllable in the other feet. In the music which accompanies the poem, Humpty is a crotchet (half note) and quaver (eighth note), while sat on is a pair of quavers (eighth notes), taking up the same time as the syllable Hump .