Dactylic

Origin of dactyl

The word Dactyl comes from the Greek word dáktylos, which translates to 'finger'. The length of the three syllables is supposed to correspond to the three joints of the finger. Just like the first syllable in a dactyl is the longest (in quantitative verse), the first bone in your finger is the longest!

Fig. 1 - The three bones in a finger refer to the three syllables in a dactyl.

Examples of dactyls in Literature

Shakespeare makes use of dactyls in many of his plays. Claudius' line in Act III Scene 1 of Hamlet (1609) demonstrates the usefulness of dactyls in creating memorable phrases.

There are four stressed syllables present here: Mad, great, not and go. Shakespeare often uses prosodic features like dactyls to create a sense of rhythm like this. Here is another example of his use of dactyls, in Act V Scene 1 of The Tempest (1611):

The use of dactylic metrical patterns / feet creates a musical quality. This is useful for plays, which emphasise the auditory experience.

Fig. 2 - Dactylic metrical patters are used in the theatre to create musical and rhythmical qualities.

Dactylic definition

The term 'dactylic' can be used either as an adjective or as a noun and is used to refer to something that contains or uses dactyls.

Dactylic rhyme

Dactylic rhyme is simply rhyme that uses dactyls. The use of dactyls in poetry can come in different forms. To understand these forms, let's first explore some examples.

Examples of dactylic rhyme in poetry

One of the most popular examples of Dactylic rhyme can be seen in 'Evangeline', an epic poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It follows a young girl Evangeline's search for her lost lover.

In this example, every first syllable is clearly followed by two unstressed syllables. Each line contains six dactyls and ends with a trochee.

The rhythm of the poem helps bring the imagery described by Longfellow to life.

Another example of dactylic rhyme can be seen in 'Angels' First Assignment' by Stan Galloway:

This is an example of dactylic pentameter, where there are five dactyls (five sets of three stressed / unstressed / unstressed syllables) per line.

It is rare to find serious poems that only make use of dactylic meter throughout because of that musical, nursery-rhyme effect it often has on the euphony (or pleasantness) of the poem.

Dactylic meter

There are types of dactylic meter other than dactylic pentameters. A poem's dactylic meter depends on the number of dactyls per line. Here are some other dactylic meters:

Dactylic dimeter

A dactylic dimeter has two dactyls per line. Dactylic dimeter can also be known as the double-dactly.

Double dactylic rhyme

In 1951, Anthony Hecht and Paul Pascal invented a new verse form called the double dactyl. It follows a dactylic dimeter. Here are the features of a double dactyl:

• It consists of two quatrains - both quatrains have three double-dactyl lines followed by a shorter dactyl/spondee combination. A spondee is a foot of one stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable.
• The first line must be a nonsense phrase.
• The second line a proper place/name.
• The sixth line is a single double-dactylic word that has not been used before in any other double-dactyl poem.

Here is an example of a double dactyl poem - 'Higgledy Piggledy Juliet Capulet' by Anthony Hecht:

This is a humorous subversion of Juliet's famous line in Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' - "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet" (Act II, Scene 2).

Another example is 'Tact' by Paul Pascal:

This double-dactyl poem continues the theme of humour found in this poetic form, by comically transforming the story of Antony and Cleopatra.

Both examples follow the rules of double dactyls:

Dactylic trimeter

Dactylic trimeter is similar to dactylic dimeter but has a difference in the amount of dactyls. If a poem is described as having dactylic trimeter, it has three dactyls per line.

Dactylic pentameter

Dactylic pentameter is when there are five dactyls per line in a poem. We saw this earlier in the example we looked at of 'Angels' First Assignment' by Stan Galloway.

Dactylic hexameter

If a poem is described as having dactylic hexameter, it has six dactyls per line. This is the most common dactylic meter used in poetry and is well known for its prevalence in epic poems (such as Iliad and the Odyssey).

Anapaest

Another key term that's useful here is anapaest. This is the opposite of a dactyl in poetry.

Here are some anapaest words:

• Understand: Un-der-stand
• Contradict: Con-tra-dict
• Interject: In-ter-ject
• Overcome: O-ver-come

Let's look at some examples of anapaests in poetry to compare the impact of dactyls and anapaests rhythm.

Below is an excerpt from Clement Clarke Moore's 'A Visit from St. Nicholas' (1823):

Compare the unstressed start to this poem with the stressed start: 'This is the forest primeval. The murmuring pines and the hemlocks' in 'Evangeline'.

Both have that same sense of rhythm, but perhaps the stressed effect of dactyls creates a sense of urgency that is less visible in the opening lines of 'A Visit from St. Nicholas'.

Why use dactylic rhyme?

The primary benefit of dactylic rhyme is that it creates a rhythmic, musical sound that can have a useful effect.

• For example, Cinderella's fairy godmother uses the dactylic phrase 'bibbity-bobbity-boo' which has the effect of giving the spell she is casting a 'magical-sounding' quality. Similarly, the nursery rhyme 'hickory dickory dock' makes use of dactyls to create that auditorily pleasant rhythmic sound that is fun for children to recite.

Creates a break / pause / lilting effect

• This can help slow the poem down, leading to an easier listening experience. Dactyls can therefore be used by poets to slow down or speed up the sense of movement in a poem.

Creates dramatic effect which is useful in writing epic / tragic poems

• Dactylic hexameter is known as the 'meter of the epic' because the rhythm of dactyls adds a sense of importance to the words. Tragic poems such as 'Evangeline' and epic poems such as 'the Iliad' both sound more grandiose because of the use of dactylic rhyme.