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Anapaest

The anapaest is a trisyllabic foot with the stress on the last syllable (UU—), the mirror image of the dactyl. The Greek name means "struck back," that is, a reversed dactyl. Anapaestic rhythm has a rising movement and a peculiar cumulative energy: the run-up of two unstressed syllables ends in a strong stress, which lends the line springiness and dynamism. This measure is often used for agitated, dramatic or impassioned lyric, and for verse with a marked oratorical intonation. Together with the dactyl and amphibrach, the anapaest forms the group of trisyllabic measures of Ukrainian syllabo-tonics that noticeably slow the tempo compared with the iamb and trochee.

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AnapaestDactyl

Distinction

Two trisyllabic feet, mirror images by direction of movement. The dactyl stresses the FIRST syllable (—UU) and has a falling, expansive, solemn-elegiac movement; the ancient hexameter is written in it. The anapaest stresses the LAST syllable (UU—), has a rising movement and cumulative energy: the run-up of two unstressed syllables ends in a strong stress, lending springiness and drama. Both slow the tempo against disyllabic feet.

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Anapaest | Ukrainian Literature