Syncopation/ Synaloepha/ Syncope

Literary/ Cultural Context Note

Peter Lewis Groves (Monash University)

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

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A metrical term, either (a) a synonym for counterpointor (b) the omission or very light enunciation of an unstressed syllable for the purposes of the metre, also called elision. Syncopation in this sense is not an artificial distortion of language but rather a reflection of how we pronounce words in rapid speech. In the following line the middle syllable of

violent

is syncopated in the second occurrence but prolated (i.e. not syncopated) in the first:

Romeo and Juliet

2.6.9)

Syncopation of an unstressed vowel adjacent to another vowel, as here, is called synaloepha. Syncopation of an unstressed vowel before a following or is called syncope:

Syncopation of an…

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Citation: Groves, Peter Lewis. "Syncopation/ Synaloepha/ Syncope". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 04 June 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=5523, accessed 25 April 2024.]

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