Syllable position

Literary/ Cultural Context Note

Peter Lewis Groves (Monash University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. WORLD HISTORY AND IDEAS: A CROSS-CULTURAL VOLUME.

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Syllable Position: in ictothetic metres like iambic pentameter the line is most effectively described not as a number of syllables but as a sequence of abstract syllable-positions: normally each position is occupied by one syllable, but under certain conditions there may be two (see syncopation, elision, feminine ending) or none (see catalexis). Beats are then positioned in relation to this grid of syllable positions; in the following line, for example, beats occur as expected in even positions but the first position is empty and the tenth position has double occupancy:

^ Then|, the whi|ning school|boy with| his satchel (As You Like It 2.7.145)

^ Then|, the whi|ning school|boy with| his satchel (

As You Like It

2.7.145)

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103 words

Citation: Groves, Peter Lewis. "Syllable position". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 04 June 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=1761, accessed 24 April 2024.]

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