2537. CATALEXIS. A verse, the last foot of which is incomplete, is said
to suffer _Catalexis_ (Gr. κατάληξις, _a stopping short_) or to be
_catalectic_; one of which the last foot is complete is called
_acatalectic_.
It is usually the last part of the foot that is omitted; but (according
to the theory now generally accepted) in catalectic iambic verses it is
the last arsis that is omitted, the preceding thesis being protracted
(2516) to compensate for the loss, thus: ⏑ ⏗́ -́
2538. A verse in which both the last arsis and the next to the last are
suppressed, so that a whole foot appears to be wanting, is called
_brachycatalectic_.
2539. A verse is said to be catalectic _in syllabam_, _in disyllabum_,
or _in trisyllabum_, according to the number of syllables remaining in
the last foot. Thus, the dactylic tetrameter - ⏑|- ⏑|- ⏑|- is catalectic
_in syllabam_, but - ⏑|- ⏑|- ⏑|- ⏑ is catalectic _in disyllabum_.
2540. PAUSES. Theoretically all the feet (or dipodies; see 2531) into
which a verse is divided must be equal in duration. Hence, when a final
syllable (or two final syllables) is lost by catalexis, compensation is
made for the loss by a pause at the end of the verse. Such a pause,
which serves to fill out the last measure, answers to a _rest_ in music.
A pause of one _mora_ is often indicated by the sign ⌃, and one of two
_morae_ by ⌅.
2541. SYNCOPE is the omission of one or more arses in the body of a
verse. Compensation is made for the suppression of an arsis by
protracting (2516) the preceding thesis.