Anapest – Literary terms

Anapest,Literary terms

Anapest – Literary terms

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Anapest:

A metrical FOOT consisting of three syllables: two unaccented syllables followed by one accented syllable, as in interfere. Originally a Greek martial rhythm, the galloping anapest creates a sense of speed and action, as in Lord Byron's The Destruction of Sennacherib, which begins:

Lord Byron's The Destruction of Sennacherib

The Assyrian came down liike a wolfson the fold,

And his cohorts were gleamling in purple and gold;

And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea,

When the blue wave rolls nightly on deep Galilee.

 

A musical equivalent of anapestic rhythm is found in Gioacchino Rossini's William Tell Overture, known to millions as the theme song of “The Lone Ranger.”

See FOOT, METER.