Trochee literary definition and meaning

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What is Trochee

What is a trochee? Trochee is a twosyllabic foot with the stress on the first syllable. As literary scholars have already noticed, the trochee creates an emphasized rhythm which is forced and is close to the dance.

How to define trochee?

It is quite easy to define trochee. As it has been already mentioned, trochee has two syllables, the first one is stressed, the second – unstressed: –U.

Trochee examples

Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and caldron bubble.
Scale of dragon; tooth of wolf;
Witches’ mummy; maw and gulf…”

Macbeth by Shakespeare

And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting

On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;

And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming,

And the lamp-light o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;

And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor

Shall be lifted—nevermore!