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Dithyramb

Genre
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

An ancient Greek choral hymn of wild, ecstatic praise for Dionysus, characterized by irregular meter, emotional intensity, and ritual abandon.

Detailed Definition
A Dithyramb is an ancient Greek choral hymn in honor of Dionysus, characterized by wild, ecstatic rhythm, irregular meter, and frenzied imagery; revived in Romantic and Symbolist poetry (e.g., Hölderlin, Nietzsche), the dithyramb celebrates irrationality, creative frenzy, and divine possession, rejecting formal restraint for lyrical abandon and mythic intensity.
Example
Example in poetry:
Dithyramb: "Wild choral hymn to Dionysus—ecstatic, irregular"; "Pindar’s dithyrambs: frenzied praise, complex meters"; "Byron’s 'Ode to Napoleon' echoes dithyrambic energy"; "Modern equivalent: Ginsberg’s 'Howl'—unrestrained outpouring"; "Form embodies intoxication, divine madness"
Additional Notes
Ancient Greek choral hymn to Dionysus, wild and irregular in form. Characterized by enthusiasm and metric freedom. Influenced later irregular odes. Related to Pindaric ode and free verse origins.
Also Known As
Dionysiac verse ecstatic lyric Dithyrambe
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