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Bacchic foot

Meter
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A metrical foot consisting of two long syllables followed by a short one (– – ˘)

Detailed Definition
Bacchic foot, in classical prosody, consists of two long syllables followed by a short (– – u), though in English adaptations it often appears as two stressed syllables followed by an unstressed one (DUM-DUM-da); named after Bacchus, the god of wine and ecstasy, it conveys urgency, frenzy, or ritual intensity and appears rarely but powerfully in mimetic or ecstatic poetry seeking to embody Dionysian energy.
Example
Example in poetry:
A Bacchic foot (¯ ¯ ˘) appears in “STORM-tossed SEA” where two stressed syllables precede an unstressed one; Though rare in English, a constructed line like “HEART-BEAT slows” demonstrates the pattern; In Latin poetry, “DŪCĒS Ād” (from Horace) approximates the Bacchic rhythm; Modern approximation: “LIFE BURNS bright” (stressed-stressed-unstressed)
Additional Notes
Bacchic foot consists of two long syllables followed by a short (in classical prosody) or stressed-stressed-unstressed in English adaptation; uncommon but appears in experimental or mimetic verse to convey urgency or ecstasy.
Also Known As
dactylic spondee heavy-light foot Dionysian foot bacchius Bacchic measure Bacchic meter
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