Home › Glossary › Letter D

Dionysian foot

Meter
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

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 associated with ecstatic or frenzied rhythm, often irregular or emphatic

Detailed Definition
Dionysian foot is a metrical unit associated with ecstatic, irregular, or unrestrained rhythm, evoking the chaotic energy of the Greek god Dionysus; though not a standard prosodic term, it describes lines that break from Apollonian order through syncopation, enjambment, or wild cadences, as in the rhapsodic verse of Allen Ginsberg or Hart Crane.
Example
Example in poetry:
A metrical foot combining a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed (e.g., “MER-ril-y”); A line like “DANC-ing through the FIELDS of time” using dactylic rhythm for ecstatic effect; The opening of Longfellow’s “Evangeline”: “This is the forest primeval…” (dactylic hexameter evoking Dionysian energy); A foot such as “HOL-i-day” used to create a lilting, celebratory cadence.
Additional Notes
A Dionysian foot (often dactylic: stressed-unstressed-unstressed) evokes ecstasy, chaos, or revelry; contrast with Apollonian (orderly) meters—use for emotional intensity or ritual energy.
Also Known As
Ecstatic foot Revelry meter Bacchic beat Frenzied dactyl Bacchic Bacchic foot
Skip to main content