Alcaic

Alcaic
/al kay"ik/, adj.
1. pertaining to Alcaeus or to certain meters or a form of strophe or stanza used by, or named after, him.
n.
2. Alcaics, Alcaic verses or strophes.
[1620-30; < LL Alcaicus < Gk Alkaïkós, equiv. to Alka(îos) ALCAEUS + -ikos -IC]

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▪ Greek poetry
      classical Greek poetic stanza composed of four lines of varied metrical feet, with five long syllables in the first two lines, four in the third and fourth lines, and an unaccented syllable at the beginning of the first three lines ( anacrusis).

      The Greek alcaic stanza is scanned:

˘ - | - ˘ | - ˘ - | - ˘ ˘ | - ˘ | -
˘ - | - ˘ | - ˘ - | - ˘ ˘ | - ˘ | -
˘ - | - ˘ | - ˘ - | - ˘ | - ˘ -
- ˘ ˘ | - ˘ ˘ | - ˘ | - ˘ - .

      Named for and perhaps invented by Alcaeus, a poet of the late 7th and early 6th centuries BC, the alcaic became an important Latin verse form, especially in the Odes of Horace. Variations on the traditional alcaic include the use of a long initial syllable and of a spondee (— —) in the first complete foot of the first three lines. Alcaics were adapted to English and French verse during the Renaissance and later appeared in works such as "Milton" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson (Tennyson, Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron).

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  • alcaic — ALCÁIC, Ă, alcaici, ce, adj. (În sintagmele) Vers alcaic = vers antic format din cinci picioare, cu cezura după al doilea picior. Strofă alcaică = strofă compusă din patru versuri: două alcaice, unul iambic şi unul coriambic. [pr.: ca ic] – Din… …   Dicționar Român

  • Alcaic — Al*ca ic, a. [L. Alca[ i]cus, Gr. ?.] Pertaining to Alc[ae]us, a lyric poet of Mitylene, about 6000 b. c. n. A kind of verse, so called from Alc[ae]us. One variety consists of five feet, a spondee or iambic, an iambic, a long syllable, and two… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Alcaic — [al kā′ik] adj. of Alcaeus or in the form of his verse n. [usually pl.] verse by Alcaeus or in his metrical patterns, consisting of four stanza odes, with four lines to a stanza …   English World dictionary

  • alcaic — adjective Usage: often capitalized Etymology: Late Latin Alcaicus of Alcaeus, from Greek Alkaïkos, from Alkaios Alcaeus, fl ab 600 B.C. Greek poet Date: circa 1637 relating to or written in a verse or strophe marked by complicated variation of a… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • alcaic — 1. adjective /ælˈkeɪɪk/ pertaining to , a Greek lyric poet of around 600BC; especially, of a verse meter in a four line stanza which he supposedly invented 2. noun /ælˈkeɪɪk/ alcaic verses …   Wiktionary

  • Alcaic — /ælˈkeɪɪk/ (say al kayik) adjective 1. relating to certain metres or a form of strophe or stanza used by, or named after, the poet Alcaeus. –noun 2. (plural) Alcaic verses or strophes. {named after Alcaeus, a Greek lyric poet of Mytilene (now… …  

  • Alcaic — adj. & n. adj. of the verse metre invented by Alcaeus, lyric poet of Mytilene c.600 BC, occurring in four line stanzas. n. (in pl.) alcaic verses. Etymology: LL alcaicus f. Gk alkaikos f. Alkaios Alcaeus …   Useful english dictionary

  • 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… …   Wikipedia

  • alcaic Prosody — [al keɪɪk] adjective written in or denoting a verse metre occurring in four line stanzas. noun (alcaics) alcaic verse. Origin C17: via late L. from Gk alkaikos, from Alkaios Alcaeus (c.620–c.580 BC), Greek lyric poet …   English new terms dictionary

  • Alcaic strophe — noun 1. A verse form much used by Horace, consisting of two eleven syllable Alcaics: ˘̲–˘––/–˘˘–˘˘̲, followed by a nine syllable: ˘̲–˘–––˘–˘, and a ten syllable: –˘˘–˘˘–˘–˘ 2. Imitated by Tennyson in ‘O mighty mouth d inventor of harmonies’ • • • …   Useful english dictionary

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