Adonic line

9.9

A short poetic line with one long then two short beats and two long beats, often used for sad songs

noun
/əˈdoʊnɪk laɪn/

Archaic

: verso adónico

The poet chose an Adonic line to evoke a mournful tone in her elegy.

Examples

In her latest poem, she used several Adonic lines.
Scholars debate the exact rhythm of the Adonic line in classical Latin verse.
In ancient Greek poetry, the Adonic line was often associated with ritual lamentations.
The poet crafted an Adonic line to express deep sorrow.
In ancient Greek poetry, the Adonic line was often associated with lamentations for the dead.
The poet chose an Adonic line to create a sense of mourning throughout her elegy.
In her latest poem, she employed an Adonic line to enhance the theme of loss.

Synonyms

verse line

vsAdonic line

Literature

1 5.4

A single line of a poem with its own rhythm

is a specific metrical pattern rather than any metrical line

Adonic

vsAdonic line

Archaic

9.9

A short poetic line with one strong then two weak beats followed by two strong beats

is the same pattern but named in the fuller phrase form

Surface Forms

Adonic line singular

Adonic lines plural

Morphology

Adonic + line

This is a technical prosodic term: knowing 'Adonic' as 'Adonis-like' and 'line' as a verse line does not allow a learner to infer the precise metrical pattern (dactyl + spondee/trochee). The meaning is specialist and lexicalized within literary studies, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would not be able to derive the MWE's full meaning without prior exposure.

Etymology

The noun Adonic line comes from the name Adonis, a young man in Greek myth who died. Ancient poets used a very short line with a quick beat followed by a slow beat in songs for Adonis to make the line sound 'sad'. So, an Adonic line now means a 'short, mournful verse'.