Meter & Rhythm
Pyrrhic
From Greek pyrrhikhios: a quick war-dance step. The pyrrhic never occurs alone in English verse; it appears as a rhythmic variant within iambic or trochaic lines.
Definition
A metrical foot of two unstressed syllables (u u) — the lightest foot, used to vary rhythm within a metrically regular line.
Example
In 'to be or NOT to be,' the phrase 'to be or' contains a pyrrhic before the stressed 'NOT'.