Aspondeo is a two-syllable metrical foot in poetry where both syllables are stressed. It is used to emphasize a particular footing in a poem written in iambic or trochaic style. It is not used as a continuous metrical structure as it lacks rhythmic variation. Some words naturally contain two stressed syllables, creating a stannous within a line.
Aspondeo is a type of metrical foot within poetry indicating a foot that contains only two syllables, both of which are stressed. This is in contrast to the more common metrical disyllabic feet – iambs and trocheas – which are composed of both a stressed and an unstressed syllable. The use of this type of foot precludes the tonal variation between the two components of the rive. This means that it is used almost exclusively to make one foot stand out from the rest and not as a metrical form for an entire poem or even a single line of a poem.
Just like other types of feet, such as iambus, trochaeus, and dactyl, aspondeus is a single element within a line of metrical poetry. Poems written using a particular metrical rhythm are often divided, by line, into a number of different feet. The number of feet per line in a poem is indicated by the meter in which the poem is written, such as tetrametre, pentametre, or heptametre. A poem written in any type of tetrameter has four feet per line of the poem, while a poem written in heptameter has seven feet per line.
How each of these feet is structured depends on the type of feet used in the poem. A poem written in iambic pentameter is written with each line containing five feet, denoted by “pentameter,” and each of those feet is written in iambic style. Iamb are quite common and quite simple, consisting of just two syllables with the first syllable unstressed and the second syllable stressed. This is in contrast to a trochee, which is a disyllabic foot consisting of a first stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable. A Spondeo, on the other hand, is a foot within a line of poetry that also has two syllables, but both are stressed.
Most poets do not use a Spondeo as a continuous metrical structure, as the resulting poem would consist of nothing more than stressed syllables. Even one line of a poem written in this way would be unpleasant to read and devoid of rhythmic variation. A Spondeo is typically used in a poem written in another style, usually iambic or trochaic, to place emphasis on a particular footing.
There are some words and phrases that naturally contain two stressed syllables, and the use of these words in a disyllabic structure often creates a stannous within a line. Words like “collapse,” “barbell,” and “heartbreak” are all examples of naturalspondes. These words can also be used in other types of feet without creating aspondee, such as trisyllabic feet such as a bacchius, which contains two stressed syllables together with one unstressed syllable.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
