Catalexis (adj. catalectic): the omission of an expected offbeat (see prosody). It is commonplace in ictosyllabic verse at the beginning or end of the line, as in this example of anapestic tetrameter:
(.) . * | . . *| . . * | . . *
While Pan |and fair Sy|rinx are fled |from our shore,
(.) . * | . . *| . . * | . . *
The Mu|ses are ba|nished, and Love |is no more;
(Dryden, “The Lady's Song”)
In ictothetic verse it is rather rare, however, and occurs only in more relaxed and informal kinds of versification such as that of Shakespeare's dramatic verse or the twentieth-century pentameter. The most common form of ictothetic catalexis is initial, producing a ‘headless' line with an abrupt beginning (here...
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Citation: Groves, Peter Lewis. "Catalexis". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 November 2001; last revised 02 November 2005. [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=169, accessed 17 December 2025.]
