Ictus
Ictus is the stressed beat in a metrical foot-the point where the rhythm of a line naturally falls into emphasis. In scansion, it marks the stronger syllable or beat against which the rest of the meter is measured. Poets and readers use ictus to track a line's rhythm, especially in accentual-syllabic verse.
Example
The WIND was COLD as NIGHT came DOWN
The LEAVES made SOFT shoes ON the GROUND
Related Definitions
[n] a sudden occurrence (or recurrence) of a disease; "he suffered an epileptic seizure"
Links
- See poems containing the word: Ictus.
- See quotes containing the word: Ictus.
- How many syllables are in Ictus.
- What rhymes with Ictus?
Related Terms
abdominal epilepsy, accent, accentuation, access, acquired epilepsy, activated epilepsy, affect epilepsy, akinetic epilepsy, Alexandrine, amphibrach, amphimacer, anacrusis, anapest, antispast, apoplexy, arrest, arsis, attack, autonomic epilepsy, bacchius,