The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms - Ross Murfin 2018

Antistrophe

Antistrophe: (1) The second stanza of the classical Greek choral ode. The antistrophe, which the chorus sang while moving from left to right, came between the strophe, which the chorus sang while moving from right to left, and the epode, which the chorus sang while standing still. The antistrophe served as an “answer” to the strophe, with a corresponding meter and movement of the chorus mirroring that of the strophe. (2) The second of three recurrent parts of the Pindaric ode.