Page 8

Ex. 7

At bar 23, Beethoven utilizes metric ambiguity to hammer out the first of many passages depicting struggle.  You will recall, this movement is in 3/4 time.  Up till now, the meter has been in threes with a natural accent on the first beat...1-2-3  1-2-3.  By having the orchestra play sforzandos on alternating beats, the meter is forced into a two step rhythm...1-2-3  1-2-3  1-2-3  1-2-3 followed by 1-2-3  1-2-3. Therein lies the ambiguity, a forceful double meter superimposed on a triple meter.  The resulting conflict of metric emphasis provides the sense of struggle.

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