Furthermore, in German there are individual words, often referred to as spondeus. These are, among others, Sturmnacht, Bluttat, Vollmond. But in these examples, too, we emphasize a syllable, usually the first, stronger than the other. Thus they can be spoken as spondeus, but they are only exemplary, since they correspond most closely to the ancient verse.
The most important thing about Spondeus in the overview
The spondeus is an ancient verge of the quantitating metric and is formed of two lengths, that is, two accented syllables (- -).
In the hexameter, which is formed from a six-pronged catalectic dactyl, spondee are sometimes used as a substitute for the dactylus, in order to make the individual lines in the hexameter more varied.
In German, however, the Spondeus is scarce or almost impossible, since there are no words in our language, in which two stressed syllables follow each other. In most cases, one of the syllables is emphasized more strongly, which is why translations frequently go to the Trochäus.
The term is derived from the Greek (σπονδή ~ spondē) and roughly translate with libation. This translation does not provide us with any information on what is at stake. It refers, however, to the history of the verse, which is the measure of the sacrificial figure.
In Greek and Latin poetry, speeches are often used as a substitute for the dactylus (emphasized, unstressed, unstressed, – υ υ) and the anapaest (unstressed, unstressed, stressed, υ υ -), the two short syllables of these verses (υ υ) are exchanged for a length.
This replacement can be found mainly in the hexameter, where a dactyl of the hexameter is replaced by a spondeus. Such an exchange can occur in all the feet of the hexameter, but is usually used in the third and fourth verses. Let us look at an example.
Tell me, Muse, the | Acts of | a lot of wander ten man
What so far wrong according to | heil gen | Troy Zer | disorder
The hexameter is formed from a six-armed dactyl. The last version is incomplete, that is, catalectic. This means that five complete dactyls (stressed, unstressed, unstressed) determine the verse, whereupon a final one, which is not complete (stressed, unstressed), forms the conclusion.
In the above example, we emphasized the stressed and unstressed syllables. It is noticeable that in the first verse, a spondeus replaces the continuous dactylus in the first verse, and a spondeus has been inserted in the second verse after the second verse.
The two lines are, moreover, taken from the German translation of the Odyssey of the Greek poet Homer by Johann Heinrich Voss from 1781. The Spondeus was thus transferred from the original, even if it was not in the German language.
The Spondeus in the German language
As described, the German uses an accentuating metric. This means that syllables are stressed because of the accent. The German is thus an accent language, which is why the distances between the stressed syllables are not absolutely equal.
Consequently, in German the syllable length is replaced by the principle of syllable concentation, which organizes the language, in contrast to Greek and Latin. That is why we differentiate the individual verses not by length and shortness, but by accented and unstressed syllables.
This principle is also found in the basic metrics of the accentuating metric (yambus, trochaeus, dactylus, anapaestia). If we transfer this principle to the spondeus, we would have to form it with two stressed syllables. This case does not exist in German, however, since two stressed syllables can not follow one another, since one of the two is emphasized more and more.
Although the above example shows that an approximation is possible in principle, but not entirely. In the example, the word much-traveled in the first three syllables is emphasized, which is quite possible, but in German only conditionally. We emphasize the syllables much, and in fact, more strongly than that, which is why the word would tend to be emphasized as much: (Trochaeus, Dactylus).
Furthermore, in German there are individual words, often referred to as spondeus. These are, among others, Sturmnacht, Bluttat, Vollmond. But in these examples, too, we emphasize a syllable, usually the first, stronger than the other. Thus they can be spoken as spondeus, but they are only exemplary, since they correspond most closely to the ancient verse.
The most important thing about Spondeus in the overview
The spondeus is an ancient verge of the quantitating metric and is formed of two lengths, that is, two accented syllables (- -).
In the hexameter, which is formed from a six-pronged catalectic dactyl, spondee are sometimes used as a substitute for the dactylus, in order to make the individual lines in the hexameter more varied.
In German, however, the Spondeus is scarce or almost impossible, since there are no words in our language, in which two stressed syllables follow each other. In most cases, one of the syllables is emphasized more strongly, which is why translations frequently go to the Trochäus.
