Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Alcaic verse

Alcaic verse

9.9
A four-line stanza with a set rhythm used in ancient Greek and Latin poetry
  • noun
  • /ˈælkeɪɪk vɜrs/
  • Literature
translation icon : verso alcaico
  • The ancient poet composed in Alcaic verse to emulate the style of Alcaeus.

Examples

  • Many English poets have experimented with Alcaic verse in their translations of classical works.

  • Learning to write in Alcaic verse requires a deep understanding of classical meters.

  • What is an Alcaic verse?

  • The Alcaic verse is beautiful.

  • Many English poets have experimented with Alcaic verse in their translations of classical works.

  • The ancient poet composed in Alcaic verse to emulate the style of Alcaeus.

  • Learning to write in Alcaic verse requires a deep understanding of classical meters.

Synonyms

verse form
vsAlcaic verse
  • Literature
1 7.0

A type of poem with a set number of lines and rhythm like a sonnet or haiku

is this particular four-line metrical stanza rather than a general type
Alcaic
vsAlcaic verse
  • Literature
9.9

A four-line pattern used in Greek and Latin poems

is the same specific four-line form often credited to an ancient poet

Surface Forms

Alcaic verse singular
Alcaic verses plural

Morphology

Alcaic + verse

The phrase is a straightforward adjective + noun composition: 'Alcaic' specifies the type or style and 'verse' denotes poetry, so the meaning 'a verse in the Alcaic metrical form' follows directly if the learner knows both words. Although the term is specialized, there is no idiomatic or metaphorical shift, making its meaning predictable from the constituents.

Etymology

Alcaic verse comes from the ancient Greek poet Alcaeus. He wrote poems in a special pattern of four lines, and other poets copied that pattern, so today Alcaic verse means a poem in that four-line style.