Turn-and-counter ode

Form
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 type of ode composed of a strophe followed by its counter-turn or antistrophe.

Detailed Definition
A Turn-and-counter ode alternates between stanzas of assertion (turn) and rebuttal or reflection (counter), creating dialectical tension within the lyric; this structure enacts internal debate or philosophical inquiry, as in Romantic odes where the poet questions nature’s solace before affirming art’s redemptive power through formal opposition.
Example
Example in poetry:
Pindaric ode structure: strophe (turn), antistrophe (counter-turn), epode (stand); “Ode on Intimations of Immortality” — Wordsworth’s turn from joy to loss to resolution; Modern example: “First I praised the dawn — then cursed its glare — finally blessed its light” — three-part emotional arc; Strophe presents idea, antistrophe challenges, epode resolves
Additional Notes
Turn-and-counter ode|A complex ode structure (like the Pindaric or sometimes the Horatian) that uses paired stanzas (strophe and antistrophe) that mirror each other metrically and structurally, representing a "turn" and a "counter-turn" in the argument or dance.
Also Known As
Counter-ode Antiphonal ode Turn-and-counter poem Antistrophic ode
Skip to main content