(Can occur at the beginning of a word or a
syllable)
Example:
Beowulf (excerpt from Episode I)
Now
Beowulf bode in the burg of the Scyldings,
leader beloved, and long he ruled
in fame with all folk, since his father had gone
away from the world, till awoke an heir,
haughty Healfdene, who held through life,
sage and sturdy, the Scyldings glad.
Then, one after one, there woke to him, to the chieftain of clansmen, children four:
leader beloved, and long he ruled
in fame with all folk, since his father had gone
away from the world, till awoke an heir,
haughty Healfdene, who held through life,
sage and sturdy, the Scyldings glad.
Then, one after one, there woke to him, to the chieftain of clansmen, children four:
What is the purpose of alliteration?
It creates:
–An emphasis of words or ideas
–A contrast of ideas
–A melodic effect; it “rolls off
the tongue”
Anapest: A metrical foot consisting
of two short (or unstressed) syllables followed by one long (or stressed)
syllable
Like iambs (iambic), anapests can be arranged
in anapestic:
–trimeter,
tetrameter, pentameter, etc.
Example: stressed syllables are underlined.
“The Destruction of
Sennacherib” (excerpt)
Lord Byron
Lord Byron
The Assyrian
came down like a wolf on
the fold
And his cohorts
were gleaming in purple
and gold
And the sheen of
their spears was like stars on
the sea
When the blue waves
roll nightly on deep Gallilee.
