Alcaic stanza - Wikipedia Alcaic stanza From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia   (Redirected from Alcaic) Jump to navigation Jump to search The Alcaic stanza is a 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.[1] The Alcaic stanza and the Sapphic stanza named for Alcaeus' contemporary, Sappho, are two important forms of Classical poetry. The Alcaic stanza consists of two Alcaic hendecasyllables, followed by an Alcaic enneasyllable and an Alcaic decasyllable. Contents 1 In Sappho's and Alcaeus' poetry 2 In Latin poetry 3 Imitations in other languages 4 Notes In Sappho's and Alcaeus' poetry[edit] The Alcaic stanza as used by Sappho and Alcaeus has the scheme ( where "–" is a longum, "u" a breve, and "×" an anceps): × – u – × – u u – u – || (alc11) × – u – × – u u – u – || (alc11) × – u – × – u – – || (alc9 ) – u u – u u – u – – ||| (alc10) In Latin poetry[edit] 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 frequently 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. (Odes 1.37, lines 5-8) An English translation, which suggests 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. Imitations in other languages[edit] A famous example of English Alcaics is Tennyson's "Milton": O mighty-mouth'd inventor of harmonies, O skill'd to sing of Time or Eternity,      God-gifted organ-voice of England,           Milton, a name to resound for ages![2] The Alcaic stanza was adapted to use in English and French during the Renaissance. It was very frequently used in Italian poetry of the 19th century, especially by Giosuè Carducci. As in English, the meter is accentual rather than quantitative. Poi che un sereno vapor d’ambrosia da la tua còppa diffuso avvolsemi,      o Ebe con passo di dea           trasvolata sorridendo via; (Giosuè Carducci, "Ideale", from: Odi barbare) It was an historically important form in Hungarian poetry.[3] In Polish poetry (in contrast to the Sapphic stanza which was extremely popular since the 16th century) Alcaics were used very rarely. Even in translation Horace's Alcaic stanzas were usually turned into different forms. An example (perhaps the only) of an Alcaic stanza in Polish original literature is Stanisław Trembecki's Ode to Adam Naruszewicz:[4] O ty, kapłanie Delijskiego świętny, Przeszłego wiadom, przyszłości pojętny      Wieńcz twe skronie, wieszczą bierz laskę,           Śnieżny ubiór i złotą przepaskę. Trembecki's verse is syllabic (11/11/9/10). There is no accentual metrical pattern. German has also used alcaics with some success. They were introduced by Klopstock, and used by Hölderlin, by Johann Heinrich Voss in his translations of Horace, by August Kopisch and other 19th century German poets.[2] Notes[edit] ^ Cuddon, John Anthony (1998). A Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory. Wiley. p. 18. ISBN 9780631202714. ^ a b Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Alcaics" . Encyclopædia Britannica. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 517. ^ See [1][permanent dead link] and [2] Archived 2006-06-23 at the Wayback Machine ^ Adam Ważyk, Mickiewicz i wersyfikacja narodowa, Warszawa 1951 (in Polish). Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alcaic_stanza&oldid=949255631" Categories: Stanzaic form Hidden categories: Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from October 2018 Articles with permanently dead external links Webarchive template wayback links Navigation menu Personal tools Not logged in Talk Contributions Create account Log in Namespaces Article Talk Variants Views Read Edit View history More Search Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Donate Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Tools What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Cite this page Wikidata item Print/export Download as PDF Printable version Languages Čeština Deutsch Ελληνικά Español Estremeñu Français Italiano Latina Magyar 日本語 Norsk bokmål Polski Русский Suomi Українська Edit links This page was last edited on 5 April 2020, at 12:54 (UTC). 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