Alcaic verse

It has been suggested that Anacreontics be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

Alcaic verse (sometimes called Anacreontic verse) is a Greek lyrical meter, traditionally believed to have been invented by Alcaeus, a lyric poet from Mytilene on the island of Lesbos, about 600 BC. The Alcaic verse and the Sapphic stanza named for Alcaeus' contemporary, Sappho, are considered the two most important "generic verse" forms of Classical poetry.^[1]

Alcaic verse is distinguished by a complicated variation of a dominant iambic pattern. One stanza consists of four lines; the first two lines are divided into two parts by a caesura after the fifth syllable. The metrical pattern of an Alcaic verse would look like this :

_ _ , _ _ : _ , , _ , _
_ _ , _ _ : _ , , _ , _
_ _ , _ _ _ , _ _
_ , , _ , , _ , _ _

(An "_" denotes a stressed or long syllable, "," a short one, and ":" is the caesura.)

Horatius used Alcaic verse in his Odes, as can be seen from this example :

 _   _   , _    _ :_ , ,   _ , _
Antehac nefas, depromere Caecubum
 _  _   , _ _ : _   , , _ ,_
cellis avitis, dum Capitolio
 _ _ ,  _ _  _   ,_ _
Regina dementis ruinas
 _  ,  ,  _ , ,_  , _ _
funus et Imperio parabat.

An English translation, which still fits the metre, is :

 _ _   ,   _      _  :  _ ,  ,  _   ,   _
Prior to this, 'twas | irreligious to waste
 _    _ , _    _  :    _     ,   ,   _ , _
Old Caecuban wine | whilst, for the Capitol
 _   _ , _ _    _    ,    _     _
Mad ruination plots the Queen, and
_  , ,  _ , ,   _   ,   _ _
Even a funeral for the Empire.

The Alcaic verse was adapted to use in English and French during the Renaissance. It was historically an important form in Hungarian poetry [1][2][3].

Notes

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