01-20-2026, 12:54 AM
So, the other day we were discussing the pyrrhic/spondee substitution because I happened to run into it and relish the effect while reading through some Frost and I thought it might not be a bad idea to run through some other common substitution scenarios.
The most common substitution in English poetry by far is the trochaic inversion.
What is a trochaic inversion?
For discussion purposes here, we will consider IP - iambic pentameter though it is useful by extension to all iambic meters.
In a standard IP line we get 5 iambs - daDUM daDUM daDUM daDUM daDUM
In a trochaic inversion, one of these is substituted with a trochee giving us a DUMdadaDUM somewhere in our line.
It is used to greatest effect at the beginning of a line, lesser in the middle and, dare I say, to no good effect at the end of a line.
Here is an example from Browning's Sonnet 43:
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
The poem begins with it:
HOW do i LOVE thee LET me COUNT the WAYS - first 2 feet is the inversion
This is used to great effect here as it promotes the How which is the focus of the entire poem and sets our expectations. There was some debate about this at some point but this is generally accepted as the correct scansion today.
here is one from Shakespeare (Hamlet)
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer - here, it puts such a heavy emphasis on whether, it really raise the import and then allows us to skip along the next few syllables
In Frost's Birches, he plays with trochaic inversion a LOT, here is a mid-line example:
But swinging doesn’t bend them down to stay - perfect IP, I included this so we could get teh predominant meter
As ice-storms do. Often you must have seen them - This line reads quite strange and really showcases the problems caused by mid-line inversion. If I ran into this line alone, I would struggle to know the author's intent. Because the whole poem is predominantly IP we can see it should be :
as ICE storms DO. OFten you MUST have SEEN them. - the inversion occurs on "often"
later in the poem, Frost uses four trochaic inversions to start lines in a row giving an insistence to the section:
As the breeze rises, and turn many-colored
As the stir cracks and crazes their enamel.
Soon the sun’s warmth makes them shed crystal shells
Shattering and avalanching on the snow-crust—
before reverting to more standard IP
Anyway, fun technique, you can add it to your own verse to add insistence and emphasis to lines ( I wouldn't recommend pairing it to an enjambed line but I also wouldn't complain if you made a great example that surprised me)
There has been some small debate about the difference between a trochaic inversion and the choriamb and if there is interest, I can go over that as well but for now:
Feel free to practice your trochaic inversions here:
The most common substitution in English poetry by far is the trochaic inversion.
What is a trochaic inversion?
For discussion purposes here, we will consider IP - iambic pentameter though it is useful by extension to all iambic meters.
In a standard IP line we get 5 iambs - daDUM daDUM daDUM daDUM daDUM
In a trochaic inversion, one of these is substituted with a trochee giving us a DUMdadaDUM somewhere in our line.
It is used to greatest effect at the beginning of a line, lesser in the middle and, dare I say, to no good effect at the end of a line.
Here is an example from Browning's Sonnet 43:
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
The poem begins with it:
HOW do i LOVE thee LET me COUNT the WAYS - first 2 feet is the inversion
This is used to great effect here as it promotes the How which is the focus of the entire poem and sets our expectations. There was some debate about this at some point but this is generally accepted as the correct scansion today.
here is one from Shakespeare (Hamlet)
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer - here, it puts such a heavy emphasis on whether, it really raise the import and then allows us to skip along the next few syllables
In Frost's Birches, he plays with trochaic inversion a LOT, here is a mid-line example:
But swinging doesn’t bend them down to stay - perfect IP, I included this so we could get teh predominant meter
As ice-storms do. Often you must have seen them - This line reads quite strange and really showcases the problems caused by mid-line inversion. If I ran into this line alone, I would struggle to know the author's intent. Because the whole poem is predominantly IP we can see it should be :
as ICE storms DO. OFten you MUST have SEEN them. - the inversion occurs on "often"
later in the poem, Frost uses four trochaic inversions to start lines in a row giving an insistence to the section:
As the breeze rises, and turn many-colored
As the stir cracks and crazes their enamel.
Soon the sun’s warmth makes them shed crystal shells
Shattering and avalanching on the snow-crust—
before reverting to more standard IP
Anyway, fun technique, you can add it to your own verse to add insistence and emphasis to lines ( I wouldn't recommend pairing it to an enjambed line but I also wouldn't complain if you made a great example that surprised me)
There has been some small debate about the difference between a trochaic inversion and the choriamb and if there is interest, I can go over that as well but for now:
Feel free to practice your trochaic inversions here: