hemistich
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˈhɛmɪˌstɪk/
- Literature
- In many traditional forms of poetry, each line is split into two hemistichs that mirror each other.
- the first hemistich
- the second hemistich
Examples
-
Kural, or Tirukkural, is a work by Tiruvalluvar written in hemistichs, which are also called kurals.
Fiction book (1992) -
The poet carefully crafted each hemistich to enhance the overall musicality of the verse.
-
To further link Lorente's sleep with Goncalo's in O, the second hemistich of the verse is that of O and not of P.
Academic text (1994) -
The final line of stanzas 1-5 rhymes with the first hemistich of the following stanza.
Academic text (2003) -
The second hemistich of each line reinforces the first with an item of clarifying or complementary information.
Academic text (1991) -
In the second line of each, the division into hemistichs is obscured by what I call internal enjambment: that is, the lack of a grammatically produced or reinforced caesura separating two half lines according to the pattern already established.
Academic text (2016) -
All three worked in an oral tradition, and in Old English, the alliterative line, with its sharp mid-line caesura, is strikingly similar to the two hemistichs forming the qasida's basic metrical unit.
Academic text (2010) -
A hemistich often contains a pause, creating a notable rhythm in the poem.
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Hemistich comes from Greek parts hemi- ('half') and stich ('line'), the same 'hemi-' you see in hemisphere. So a hemistich is literally 'half a line' of poetry, often separated by a pause.