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acrostic

  (ə-krô'stĭk, ə-krŏs'tĭk) pronunciation
n.
  1. A poem or series of lines in which certain letters, usually the first in each line, form a name, motto, or message when read in sequence.
  2. See word square.

[French acrostiche, from Old French, from Greek akrostikhis : akron, head, end; see acromegaly + stikhos, line.]

acrostic a·cros'tic adj.
acrostically a·cros'ti·cal·ly adv.
 
 

acrostic, a poem in which the initial letters of each line can be read down the page to spell either an alphabet, a name (often that of the author, a patron, or a loved one), or some other concealed message. Variant forms of acrostic may use middle letters or final letters of lines or, in prose acrostics, initial letters of sentences or paragraphs.

 

Originally, a short verse composition, constructed so that one or more sets of letters (such as the initial, middle, or final letters of the lines), taken consecutively, form words. An acrostic in which the initial letters form the alphabet is called an abecedarius. Ancient Greek and Latin writers, medieval monks, and Renaissance poets are among those who devised acrostics. Today the term is used for a type of word puzzle utilizing the acrostic principle. A popular form is double acrostics, puzzles constructed so that the middle or last, as well as initial, letters of lines may form words.

For more information on acrostic, visit Britannica.com.

 
(əkrŏ'stĭk) , arrangement of words or lines in which a series of initial, final, or other corresponding letters, when taken together, stand in a set order to form a word, a phrase, the alphabet, or the like. A famous acrostic was made on the Greek for Jesus Christ, God's Son, Savior: Iesous Christos, Theou Uios, Soter (ch and th being each one letter in Greek). The initials spell ichthus, Greek for fish; hence the frequent use of the fish by early Christians as a symbol for Jesus. There are several alphabetic acrostics (pertaining to the Hebrew alphabet) in the Bible, e.g., in Ps. 119 and Lamentations. Acrostic verses are common, and very elaborate puzzles have been devised combining several schemes.


 
Poetry Glossary: Acrostic

a poem in which the first letter of each line spells out a name (downwards).

 
Wikipedia: acrostic
For another meaning, see Acrostic (puzzle).

An acrostic (from the late Greek akróstichon, from ákros, "top", and stíchos, "verse") is a poem or other writing in an alphabetic script, in which the first letter, syllable or word of each line, paragraph or other recurring feature in the text spells out another message. A form of constrained writing, an acrostic can be used as a mnemonic device to aide memory retrieval.

The word acrostic was first applied to the prophecies of the Erythraean Sibyl, which were written on leaves and arranged so that the initial letters of the leaves always formed a word. This technique was later used to ingenious effect by Vladimir Nabokov in his story The Vane Sisters.

The Lamentations of Jeremiah, and in certain of the Psalms of the Hebrew Bible. Two notable acrostic Psalms are the long Psalm 119, which typically is printed in subsections named after the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, each of which is featured in that section; and Psalm 145 (commonly referred to as "Ashrei"), which is recited three times a day in the Jewish services.

The ease of detectability of an acrostic can depend on the intention of its creator. In some cases an author may desire an acrostic to have a better chance of being perceived by an observant reader, such as the acrostic contained in the Hypnerotomachia Poliphililil (where the key capital letters are decorated with ornate embellishments), or as in the poem To Doctor Empiric (by Ben Jonson). Giving emphasis to, and capitalising the key letters renders such acrostics relatively easier to discern. However, accrostics may also be used as a form of steganography, where the author seeks to conceal the message rather than proclaim it. This might be achieved by making the mama bum key letters uniform in appearance with the surrounding text, or by aligning the words in such a way that the relationship between the key letters is less obvious. Acrostic ciphers were popular during the Renaissance, and could employ various different methods of encipherment, such as selecting other letters than initials based on a repeating patten (equidistant letter sequences), or even concealing the message by starting at the end of the text and working backwards.[1]

The Dutch national anthem (The William) is an acrostic: the first letters of its fifteen stanzas spell WiLLEM VAN NASSOV. This was one of the hereditary titles of William of Orange (William the Silent), who introduces himself in the poem to the Dutch people.

Here is an example in English, an Edgar Allan Poe poem titled simply An Acrostic:

<poem style="margin-left: 2em"> Elizabeth it is in vain you say "Love not" — thou sayest it in so sweet a way: In vain those words from thee or L.E.L. Zantippe's talents had enforced so well: Ah! if that language from thy heart arise, Breath it less gently forth — and veil thine eyes. Endymion, recollect, when Luna tried To cure his love — was cured of all beside — His follie — pride — and passion — for he died. </poem>

Here is another example where the initial letters spell out the months of the year, entitled A Calendar Acrostic:

<poem style="margin-left: 2em"> JANet was quite ill one day. FEBrile trouble came her way. MARtyr-like, she lay in bed; APRoned nurses softly sped. MAYbe, said the leech judicial JUNket would be beneficial. JULeps, too, though freely tried, AUGured ill, for Janet died. SEPulchre was sadly made. OCTaves pealed and prayers were said. NOVices with ma'y a tear DECorated Janet's bier. </poem>

Disputed Acrostics

There is also another acrostic code found in the parallel ungodly line of Cain. It contains 8 names and reads, &quot;I will choose a circumcised people for myself even (many) peoples for myself.&quot;

There are also acrostics whose authenticity are disputed. The first letter of each consecutive Hebrew name from Adam to the father of Abraham appears to form an acrostic that reads, "I will forgive my enemies, having compassion, forgiving those made from dust a second time." However, it is debatable whether this acrostic is the result of random chance or by design.

The acrostic appears to be highly structured. For example, the Hebrew word for forgiveness also means, "to lift up". Thus it may also read (and note the play on words), "I will lift up those who have risen up against me, having compassion, lifting up those (laid low in) the dust a second time."

See also

External links


 
Translations: Acrostic

Dansk (Danish)
n. - akrostikon

Nederlands (Dutch)
acrostichon (naamvers)

Français (French)
n. - acrostique, acrostiche

Deutsch (German)
n. - Akrostichon

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - ακροστιχίδα

Italiano (Italian)
acrostico

Português (Portuguese)
n. - acróstico (m)

Русский (Russian)
акростих

Español (Spanish)
n. - acróstico

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - namndikt

中文(简体) (Chinese (Simplified))
离合诗

中文(繁體) (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 離合詩

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 각 행의 첫 글자를 모으면 말이 되는 시, 이렇게 만든 글자 수수께끼

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 折り句

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) قصيده إذا جمعت حروف أوائل أبياتها أو أواخرها شكلت كلمه أو عباره, سلسله كيلمات متساويه الطول مرتبه بحيث تكون قرائتها عموديا مطابقه لقرائتها أفقيا‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮שיר וכו' בו אותיות מסוימות בכל שורה מהוות מילה, חידת מלים הבנויה על עיקרון זה, אקרוסטיכון‬


 
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Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Literary Dictionary. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. Copyright © Chris Baldick 2001, 2004. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/  Read more
Poetry Glossary. Copyright © 2007, ILOVEPOETRY, Inc, All Rights Reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Acrostic" Read more
Translations. Copyright © 2007, WizCom Technologies Ltd. All rights reserved.  Read more

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