Hexameter
Encyclopedia
Hexameter is a metrical line
of verse consisting of six feet. It was the standard epic metre in classical Greek and Latin literature, such as in the Iliad
and Aeneid
. Its use in other genres of composition include Horace
's satires, and Ovid
's Metamorphoses
. According to Greek mythology
, hexameter was invented by the god Hermes
. Homer's Odyssey also uses the hexameter verse throughout his poem.
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. A short syllable (υ) is a syllable with a short vowel and one consonant at the end. A long syllable (–) is a syllable that either has a long vowel, two or more consonants at the end (or a long consonant), or both. However, spaces between words are not counted, so for instance "hat" is normally short, but it is long in "hat throw," due to the "th" in the next word. An example in English is Coleridge's
self-describing line:
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.
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) are a few minor languages spoken in Africa , Ancient Greek, Latin, 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):
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. In the second part of the 20th century hexameter was used in the longest ever poem, Savitri (book)
, written in English by Sri Aurobindo.
Line (poetry)
A line is a unit of language into which a poem or play is divided, which operates on principles which are distinct from and not necessarily coincident with grammatical structures, such as the sentence or clauses in sentences...
of verse consisting of six feet. It was the standard epic metre in classical Greek and Latin literature, such as in the Iliad
Iliad
The Iliad is an epic poem in dactylic hexameters, traditionally attributed to Homer. Set during the Trojan War, the ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Greek states, it tells of the battles and events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles...
and Aeneid
Aeneid
The Aeneid is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. It is composed of roughly 10,000 lines in dactylic hexameter...
. Its use in other genres of composition include Horace
Horace
Quintus Horatius Flaccus , known in the English-speaking world as Horace, was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus.-Life:...
's satires, and Ovid
Ovid
Publius Ovidius Naso , known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who is best known as the author of the three major collections of erotic poetry: Heroides, Amores, and Ars Amatoria...
's Metamorphoses
Metamorphoses (poem)
Metamorphoses is a Latin narrative poem in fifteen books by the Roman poet Ovid describing the history of the world from its creation to the deification of Julius Caesar within a loose mythico-historical framework. Completed in AD 8, it is recognized as a masterpiece of Golden Age Latin literature...
. According to Greek mythology
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
, hexameter was invented by the god Hermes
Hermes
Hermes is the great messenger of the gods in Greek mythology and a guide to the Underworld. Hermes was born on Mount Kyllini in Arcadia. An Olympian god, he is also the patron of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of the cunning of thieves, of orators and...
. Homer's Odyssey also uses the hexameter verse throughout his poem.
In classical hexameter, the six feet follow these rules: A foot can be made up of two long syllables (– –), a spondee
Spondee
In poetry, a spondee is a metrical foot consisting of two long syllables, as determined by syllable weight in classical meters, or two stressed syllables, as determined by stress in modern meters...
; or a long and two short syllables, a dactyl
Dactyl (poetry)
A dactyl is a foot in meter in poetry. In quantitative verse, such as Greek or Latin, a dactyl is a long syllable followed by two short syllables, as determined by syllable weight...
(– 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. A short syllable (υ) is a syllable with a short vowel and one consonant at the end. A long syllable (–) is a syllable that either has a long vowel, two or more consonants at the end (or a long consonant), or both. However, spaces between words are not counted, so for instance "hat" is normally short, but it is long in "hat throw," due to the "th" in the next word. An example in English is Coleridge's
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was an English poet, Romantic, literary critic and philosopher who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets. He is probably best known for his poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla...
self-describing line:
- In the hex | ameter | rises the | fountain's | silvery | column.
Variations of the sequence from line to line, as well as the use of caesura
Caesura
thumb|100px|An example of a caesura in modern western music notation.In meter, a caesura is a complete pause in a line of poetry or in a musical composition. The plural form of caesura is caesuras or caesurae...
(logical full stops within the line) are essential in avoiding what may otherwise be a monotonous sing-song effect.
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) are a few minor languages spoken in Africa , Ancient Greek, Latin, and Hungarian.
While the above classical hexameter has never enjoyed much popularity in English, where the standard metre is iambic pentameter
Iambic pentameter
Iambic pentameter is a commonly used metrical line in traditional verse and verse drama. The term describes the particular rhythm that the words establish in that line. That rhythm is measured in small groups of syllables; these small groups of syllables are called "feet"...
, 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
Michael Drayton
Michael Drayton was an English poet who came to prominence in the Elizabethan era.-Early life:He was born at Hartshill, near Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England. Almost nothing is known about his early life, beyond the fact that in 1580 he was in the service of Thomas Goodere of Collingham,...
's Poly-Olbion
Poly-Olbion
The Poly-Olbion is a topographical poem describing England and Wales. Written by Michael Drayton and published in 1612, it was reprinted with a second part in 1622. Drayton had been working on the project since at least 1598.-Content:...
(1612) in couplets of iambic hexameter. An example from Drayton (marking the feet):
- Nor any | other | wold like | Cotswold | ever | sped,
- So rich | and fair | a vale | in for | tuning | to wed.
In the 17th century the iambic hexameter, also called alexandrine
Alexandrine
An alexandrine is a line of poetic meter comprising 12 syllables. Alexandrines are common in the German literature of the Baroque period and in French poetry of the early modern and modern periods. Drama in English often used alexandrines before Marlowe and Shakespeare, by whom it was supplanted...
, was used as a substitution in the heroic couplet
Heroic couplet
A heroic couplet is a traditional form for English poetry, commonly used for epic and narrative poetry; it refers to poems constructed from a sequence of rhyming pairs of iambic pentameter lines. The rhyme is always masculine. Use of the heroic couplet was first pioneered by Geoffrey Chaucer in...
, and as one of the types of permissible lines in lyrical stanzas and the Pindaric odes of Cowley
Abraham Cowley
Abraham Cowley was an English poet born in the City of London late in 1618. He was one of the leading English poets of the 17th century, with 14 printings of his Works published between 1668 and 1721.-Early life and career:...
and Dryden
John Dryden
John Dryden was an influential English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden.Walter Scott called him "Glorious John." He was made Poet...
.
Several attempts were made in the 19th century to naturalise the dactylic hexameter
Dactylic hexameter
Dactylic hexameter is a form of meter in poetry or a rhythmic scheme. It is traditionally associated with the quantitative meter of classical epic poetry in both Greek and Latin, and was consequently considered to be the Grand Style of classical poetry...
to English, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline...
, Arthur Hugh Clough
Arthur Hugh Clough
Arthur Hugh Clough was an English poet, an educationalist, and the devoted assistant to ground-breaking nurse Florence Nightingale...
and others, none of them particularly successful. Gerard Manley Hopkins
Gerard Manley Hopkins
Gerard Manley Hopkins, S.J. was an English poet, Roman Catholic convert, and Jesuit priest, whose posthumous 20th-century fame established him among the leading Victorian poets...
wrote many of his poems in six-foot iambic and sprung rhythm
Sprung rhythm
Sprung rhythm is a poetic rhythm designed to imitate the rhythm of natural speech. It is constructed from feet in which the first syllable is stressed and may be followed by a variable number of unstressed syllables...
lines. In the 20th century a loose ballad-like six-foot line with a strong medial pause was used by William Butler Yeats
William Butler Yeats
William Butler Yeats was an Irish poet and playwright, and one of the foremost figures of 20th century literature. A pillar of both the Irish and British literary establishments, in his later years he served as an Irish Senator for two terms...
. 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
Lithuanian language
Lithuanian is the official state language of Lithuania and is recognized as one of the official languages of the European Union. There are about 2.96 million native Lithuanian speakers in Lithuania and about 170,000 abroad. Lithuanian is a Baltic language, closely related to Latvian, although they...
by Kristijonas Donelaitis
Kristijonas Donelaitis
Kristijonas Donelaitis was a Prussian Lithuanian Lutheran pastor and poet. He lived and worked in Lithuania Minor, a territory in the Kingdom of Prussia, that had a sizable minority of ethnic Lithuanians...
. His poem "Metai" (The Seasons)
The Seasons (poem)
The Seasons ' is the first Lithuanian poem written by Kristijonas Donelaitis around 1765–1775. It was published as "Das Jahr" in Königsberg, 1818 by Ludwig Rhesa, who also entitled the poem and selected the arrangement of the parts. The German translation was included in the first edition of the...
is considered the most successful hexameter text in Lithuanian as yet. In the second part of the 20th century hexameter was used in the longest ever poem, Savitri (book)
Savitri (book)
Savitri: A Legend and a Symbol is an epic poem in blank verse by Sri Aurobindo, based upon a myth from the Mahabharata. Its central theme revolves around the transcendence of man as the consummation of terrestrial evolution, and the immergence of an immortal supramental gnostic race upon earth...
, written in English by Sri Aurobindo.
External links
- Hexametrica, a tutorial on Latin dactylic hexameter at Skidmore CollegeSkidmore CollegeSkidmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,500 students. The college is located in the town of Saratoga Springs, New York State....