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Hexameter

January 01, 1970

Hexameter is a metrical line of verses consisting of six feet (a "foot" here is the pulse, or major accent, of words in an English line of poetry; in Greek as well as in Latin a "foot" is not an accent, but describes various combinations of syllables). It was the standard epic metre in classical Greek and Latin literature, such as in the Iliad, Odyssey and Aeneid. Its use in other genres of composition include Horace's satires, Ovid's Metamorphoses, and the Hymns of Orpheus. According to Greek mythology, hexameter was invented by Phemonoe, daughter of Apollo and the first Pythia of Delphi.[1][2]

Classical Hexameter edit

In classical hexameter, the six feet follow these rules:

  • A foot can be made up of two long syllables (– –), a spondee; or a long and two short syllables, a dactyl (– υ υ).
  • The first four feet can contain either one of them.
  • The fifth is almost always a dactyl, and last must be a spondee/trochee (together forming an adonic). Exceptions can occur when a polysyllabic (especially Greek) name ends a verse.

A short syllable (υ) is a syllable with a short vowel and no consonant at the end. A long syllable (–) is a syllable that either has a long vowel, one or more consonants at the end (or a long consonant), or both. Spaces between words are not counted in syllabification, so for instance "cat" is a long syllable in isolation, but "cat attack" would be syllabified as short-short-long: "ca", "ta", "tack" (υ υ –).

Variations of the sequence from line to line, as well as the use of caesura (logical full stops within the line) are essential in avoiding what may otherwise be a monotonous sing-song effect.

Application edit

Although the rules seem simple, it is hard to use classical hexameter in English, because English is a stress-timed language that condenses vowels and consonants between stressed syllables, while hexameter relies on the regular timing of the phonetic sounds. Languages having the latter properties (i.e., languages that are not stress-timed) include Ancient Greek, Latin, Lithuanian and Hungarian.

While the above classical hexameter has never enjoyed much popularity in English, where the standard metre is iambic pentameter, English poems have frequently been written in iambic hexameter. There are numerous examples from the 16th century and a few from the 17th; the most prominent of these is Michael Drayton's Poly-Olbion (1612) in couplets of iambic hexameter. An example from Drayton (marking the feet):

Nor a | ny o | ther wold | like Cot | swold e | ver sped,
So rich | and fair | a vale | in for | tuning | to wed.

In the 17th century the iambic hexameter, also called alexandrine, was used as a substitution in the heroic couplet, and as one of the types of permissible lines in lyrical stanzas and the Pindaric odes of Cowley and Dryden.

Several attempts were made in the 19th century to naturalise the dactylic hexameter to English, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Arthur Hugh Clough and others, none of them particularly successful. Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote many of his poems in six-foot iambic and sprung rhythm lines. In the 20th century a loose ballad-like six-foot line with a strong medial pause was used by William Butler Yeats. The iambic six-foot line has also been used occasionally, and an accentual six-foot line has been used by translators from the Latin and many poets.

In the late 18th century the hexameter was adapted to the Lithuanian language by Kristijonas Donelaitis. His poem "Metai" (The Seasons) is considered the most successful hexameter text in Lithuanian as yet.

For dactylic hexameter poetry in Hungarian language, see Dactylic hexameter#In Hungarian.

Albert Meyer (1893–1962, Berne, Switzerland, translated verses of Homer's Odyssey into the Swiss dialect of Berne. This dialect uses a natural form of hexameter. See http://www.edimuster.ch/baernduetsch/chaernduetsch.htm

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Pausanias, 10.5.7
  2. ^ Pliny the Elder, 7.57

References edit

  • Stephen Greenblatt et al. The Norton Anthology of English Literature, volume D, 9th edition (Norton, 2012).
  • Pausanias. Description of Greece, Vol. IV. Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd., 1918).
  • Pliny the Elder. The Natural History. Translated by John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S. H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A. (London: Taylor and Francis, 1855).

External links edit

  • , a tutorial on Latin dactylic hexameter at Skidmore College
  • Hexameter.co, practice scanning lines of dactylic hexameter from a variety of Latin authors

January 01, 1970
hexameter, metrical, line, verses, consisting, feet, foot, here, pulse, major, accent, words, english, line, poetry, greek, well, latin, foot, accent, describes, various, combinations, syllables, standard, epic, metre, classical, greek, latin, literature, such. Hexameter is a metrical line of verses consisting of six feet a foot here is the pulse or major accent of words in an English line of poetry in Greek as well as in Latin a foot is not an accent but describes various combinations of syllables It was the standard epic metre in classical Greek and Latin literature such as in the Iliad Odyssey and Aeneid Its use in other genres of composition include Horace s satires Ovid s Metamorphoses and the Hymns of Orpheus According to Greek mythology hexameter was invented by Phemonoe daughter of Apollo and the first Pythia of Delphi 1 2 Contents 1 Classical Hexameter 2 Application 3 See also 4 Notes 5 References 6 External linksClassical Hexameter editIn classical hexameter the six feet follow these rules A foot can be made up of two long syllables a spondee or a long and two short syllables a dactyl y y The first four feet can contain either one of them The fifth is almost always a dactyl and last must be a spondee trochee together forming an adonic Exceptions can occur when a polysyllabic especially Greek name ends a verse A short syllable y is a syllable with a short vowel and no consonant at the end A long syllable is a syllable that either has a long vowel one or more consonants at the end or a long consonant or both Spaces between words are not counted in syllabification so for instance cat is a long syllable in isolation but cat attack would be syllabified as short short long ca ta tack y y Variations of the sequence from line to line as well as the use of caesura logical full stops within the line are essential in avoiding what may otherwise be a monotonous sing song effect Application editAlthough the rules seem simple it is hard to use classical hexameter in English because English is a stress timed language that condenses vowels and consonants between stressed syllables while hexameter relies on the regular timing of the phonetic sounds Languages having the latter properties i e languages that are not stress timed include Ancient Greek Latin Lithuanian and Hungarian While the above classical hexameter has never enjoyed much popularity in English where the standard metre is iambic pentameter English poems have frequently been written in iambic hexameter There are numerous examples from the 16th century and a few from the 17th the most prominent of these is Michael Drayton s Poly Olbion 1612 in couplets of iambic hexameter An example from Drayton marking the feet Nor a ny o ther wold like Cot swold e ver sped So rich and fair a vale in for tuning to wed In the 17th century the iambic hexameter also called alexandrine was used as a substitution in the heroic couplet and as one of the types of permissible lines in lyrical stanzas and the Pindaric odes of Cowley and Dryden Several attempts were made in the 19th century to naturalise the dactylic hexameter to English by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Arthur Hugh Clough and others none of them particularly successful Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote many of his poems in six foot iambic and sprung rhythm lines In the 20th century a loose ballad like six foot line with a strong medial pause was used by William Butler Yeats The iambic six foot line has also been used occasionally and an accentual six foot line has been used by translators from the Latin and many poets In the late 18th century the hexameter was adapted to the Lithuanian language by Kristijonas Donelaitis His poem Metai The Seasons is considered the most successful hexameter text in Lithuanian as yet For dactylic hexameter poetry in Hungarian language see Dactylic hexameter In Hungarian Albert Meyer 1893 1962 Berne Switzerland translated verses of Homer s Odyssey into the Swiss dialect of Berne This dialect uses a natural form of hexameter See http www edimuster ch baernduetsch chaernduetsch htmSee also editDactylic hexameter Prosody Latin Poetic meterNotes edit Pausanias 10 5 7 Pliny the Elder 7 57References editStephen Greenblatt et al The Norton Anthology of English Literature volume D 9th edition Norton 2012 Pausanias Description of Greece Vol IV Translation by W H S Jones Litt D and H A Ormerod M A Cambridge MA Harvard University Press London William Heinemann Ltd 1918 Pliny the Elder The Natural History Translated by John Bostock M D F R S H T Riley Esq B A London Taylor and Francis 1855 External links editHexametrica a tutorial on Latin dactylic hexameter at Skidmore College Hexameter co practice scanning lines of dactylic hexameter from a variety of Latin authors Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hexameter amp oldid 1198526559, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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