Alcaics was a name given in Ancient Greek and Latin poetry to several kinds of verse, from Alcaeus, their reputed inventor. The first kind consists of five feet , viz. a spondee or iambic, an iambic, a long syllable and two dactyls; the second of two dactyls and two trochees .
Besides these, which are called dactylic Alcaics, there is another, simply styled Alcaic, consisting of an epitrite , two choriambi and a bacchius; thus
- Cur timet flalvum Tiberim I tangere, cur olivum? \
The Alcaic ode is composed of several strophes, each consisting of four verses, the first two of which are always eleven-syllable alcaics of the first kind; the third verse is an iambic dimeter hypercatalectic consisting of nine syllables; and the fourth verse is a ten-syllable alcaic of the second kind. The following strophe is of this species, which Horace calls Alcaei minaces camenae- Non possidentem multa vocaveris Recte beatum; rectius occupat Nomen beati, qui deorum Muneribus sapienter uti. There is also a decasyllabic variety of the Alcaic metre. The 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica said that: "The Alcaic measure was one of the most splendid inventions of Greek metrical art. In its best examples it gives an impression of wonderful vigour and spontaneity."
The Alcaic stanza is an Ancient Greek lyrical meter, an Aeolic verse form traditionally believed to have been invented by Alcaeus, a lyric poet from Mytilene on the island of Lesbos, about 600 BC. The Alcaic stanza and the Sapphic stanza named for Alcaeus' contemporary, Sappho, are two important forms of Classical poetry.
In Sappho and Alcaeus' poetry[]
The Alcaic stanza as used by Sappho and Alcaeus has the scheme ( where ¯ is a longum, ˘ a breve, and × an anceps):
- × ¯ ˘ ¯ × ¯ ˘ ˘ ¯ ˘ ¯ ||
- × ¯ ˘ ¯ × ¯ ˘ ˘ ¯ ˘ ¯ ||
- × ¯ ˘ ¯ × ¯ ˘ ¯ ¯ ||
- ¯ ˘ ˘ ¯ ˘ ˘ ¯ ˘ ¯ ¯ |||
In Latin poetry[]
The Alcaic stanza 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 stanza would look like this :
_ _ u _ _ : _ u u _ u _ _ _ u _ _ : _ u u _ u _ _ _ u _ _ _ u _ _ _ u u _ u u _ u _ _
(An "_" denotes a long syllable, "u" a short one, and ":" is the caesura.)
Horace used the Alcaic stanza in his Odes, as can be seen from this example :
_ _ u _ _ :_ u u _ u _ Antehac nefas, depromere Caecubum _ _ u _ _ : _ u u _ u_ cellis avitis, dum Capitolio _ _ u _ _ _ u_ _ Regina dementis ruinas _ u u _ u u_ u _ _ funus et Imperio parabat.
An English translation, which still fits the metre, is :
_ _ u _ _ : _ u u _ u _ Prior to this, 'twas | irreligious to waste _ _ u _ _ : _ u u _ u _ Old Caecuban wine | whilst, for the Capitol _ _u _ _ _ u _ _ Mad ruination plots the Queen, and _ u u _ u u _ u _ _ Even a funeral for the Empire.
In modern poetry[]
The Alcaic stanza was adapted to use in English and French during the Renaissance. It was historically an important form in Hungarian poetry[1][2][3]
Tennyson has attempted to reproduce it in English in his
- O mighty-mouthed inventor of harmonies,
- O skilled to sing of time or eternity,
- God-gifted organ-voice of England,
- Milton, a name to resound for ages.
German is, however, the only modern literature in which alcaics have been written with much success. They were introduced by Klopstock, and used by Hblderlin, by Voss in his translations of Horace, by A. Kopisch and other modern German poets.
Notes[]
External links[]
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, the 1911 Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. Original article is at "Alcaics".