Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The first of a pair of stanzas of alternating form on which the structure of a given poem is based.
- noun A stanza containing irregular lines.
- noun The first division of the triad constituting a section of a Pindaric ode.
- noun The first turning movement of the chorus from one side of the orchestra to the other in classical Greek drama.
- noun The part of a choral ode sung while this movement is executed.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun In music, one of the more or less complete divisions into which a piece in song or dance form is divided: analogous to stanza in verse.
- noun In ancient prosody: A system the metrical form of which is repeated once or oftener in the course of a poem; also, a stanza in modern poetry.
- noun In a narrower sense— The former of two metrically corresponding systems, as distinguished from the latter or antistrophe.
- noun The fourth part of the parabasis and first part of the epirrhematic syzygy. It is hymnic in character, as opposed to the scoptic tone of the epirrhema.
- noun In botany, one of the spirals formed in the development of leaves.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun In Greek choruses and dances, the movement of the chorus while turning from the right to the left of the orchestra; hence, the strain, or part of the choral ode, sung during this movement. Also sometimes used of a stanza of modern verse. See the Note under
antistrophe .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun prosody A
turn inverse , as from onemetrical foot to another, or from one side of achorus to the other. - noun prosody The section of an
ode that the choruschants as it moves from right to left across thestage . - noun prosody A pair of
stanzas of alternating form on which the structure of a given poem is based.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun one section of a lyric poem or choral ode in classical Greek drama
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word strophe.
Examples
-
The term strophe has come to be used also for verse paragraphs where there is no antistrophic arrangement.
Select Masterpieces of Biblical Literature Richard Green Moulton 1886
-
In each set of three the first stanza is called the strophe (turn), being intended, probably, for chanting as the chorus moved in one direction; the second stanza is called the antistrophe, chanted as the chorus executed a second, contrasting, movement; and the third stanza the epode, chanted as the chorus stood still.
A History of English Literature Robert Huntington Fletcher
-
In the original the opening strophe, which is altogether more regular than the average and is, moreover, one of the few that have also complete caesural rhyme, is as follows:
The Nibelungenlied Translated into Rhymed English Verse in the Metre of the Original George Henry Needler 1914
-
In acrostic poems the rhyme is sometimes supplied by the corresponding letter of the alphabet; thus the first strophe rhymes with a, the second with b, etc.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 14: Simony-Tournon 1840-1916 1913
-
Chanting and moving as a unit, the chorus would proceed in one direction (movement called the strophe), turn back using the same meter
-
There are two lead choirs: bunches of monks gathered in columns around the lectern of each transept, with the choirmaster who intones the strophe and the choir that catches the tune and makes it blossom in melodies and chords.
Ecumenism 2009
-
There are two lead choirs: bunches of monks gathered in columns around the lectern of each transept, with the choirmaster who intones the strophe and the choir that catches the tune and makes it blossom in melodies and chords.
-
There are two lead choirs: bunches of monks gathered in columns around the lectern of each transept, with the choirmaster who intones the strophe and the choir that catches the tune and makes it blossom in melodies and chords.
-
Lyric's raw phonemic matter precedes and equips every strophe as well as the odd apostrophe.
-
I brought a tape recorder to her house one day, and she read a lovely strophe on love and the stark beauty of winter.
ɘloЯ 2010
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.