Spondee

Spondee (also Spondäus; plural spondees ) (Greek σπονδή sponde, 'Libation', the verses of the Opferlied ) referred to in the prosody a metrical foot consisting of two long syllables in quantitierenden Greek and Latin verse.

It is used as a substitute for dactyl and anapest used ( one of the two lengths equal to two then shortening ), rarely against it. Iambic or trochaic as a substitute for In the hexameter, where it can rarely occur in the first four, also in the fifth foot, it serves as a means of variety to avoid monotony.

Use in the German

In German, occurs in the imitation of ancient versification quantitierenden the place of the syllable length as the organizing principle of the syllabic stress. The spondee is difficult or impossible to replicate according to this principle in German, because can not follow each other two stressed syllables in German. One can instead be true consecutive two long syllables ( " blood moon " ), of which then usually the first is stressed that the rule -like principle of the replica ( emphasis on long) is, however, not fulfilled.

Scheme: stressed - stressed (-)

Words such as stormy night, murder, full moon can at least be talked about by this scheme.

• Metrical foot / meter