How does anacrusis simulate a ship's pushing back from dock?

Question

>[ [Source :](https://krimalta.wordpress.com/2017/04/20/etymology-anacrusis/) ] Interestingly, **anakrouein** or **anacrusis** is also found in Greek poetry, where the first syllable is not accented. Being the sea-faring people as they were, starting a poem with anacrusis felt like pushing a ship back from the dock, signalling a start of a voyage. I don't understand the last sentence overhead. I don't know about Ancient Greek marine navigation, but I'd divine that ships don't always reverse when leaving port? They can leave by dock by going forward and turning away?

Answer 1

Whether the ship is going in reverse or forward is actually irrelevant to the comparison. Comparing the anacrusis at the beginning of a poem to a boat being pushed out works, because in both cases, something is being started. The poem and a journey by boat. The more nuanced detail of this comparison comes from the unstressed-to-stressed portion of the beginning word. The unstressed syllables are being compared to the opposite force needed to propel any boat in motion, and this charge of energy is complete with the stressed syllable and the literal pushing of the boat.