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Dithyrambic

Foot
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 wild, irregular meter associated with ancient hymns to Dionysus, often using varied and ecstatic rhythms

Detailed Definition
Dithyrambic meter originates in frenzied choral hymns to Dionysus, characterized by irregular, exuberant rhythms that defy strict foot classification; in later usage, “dithyrambic” describes any impassioned, unrestrained poetic style, and though not a fixed foot, the term appears in glossaries to denote metrical abandon as a deliberate aesthetic choice in Romantic or modernist poetry.
Example
Example in poetry:
Dithyrambic verse, originally choral hymns to Dionysus, appears in Pindar’s wild, ecstatic odes: “Whirl, whirl, O Bacchic maidens!”; Aristophanes parodies dithyrambic excess in “The Frogs”; In English, Shelley’s “Ode to the West Wind” channels dithyrambic energy: “O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn’s being”; The form is characterized by irregular, passionate meters and rapid shifts; Catullus 64 blends dithyrambic fervor with epic narrative; Dithyrambic poetry often uses anapaestic or dochmiac rhythms for frenzy.
Additional Notes
Dithyrambic: Originally a choral hymn to Dionysus with wild, ecstatic rhythms, later used to describe irregular, exuberant verse; dithyrambic meters often mix dactyls, trochees, and anapests unpredictably; useful for studying the evolution from ritual poetry to expressive lyrical freedom.
Also Known As
Dithyrambic meter
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