Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
hendecasyllable

hendecasyllable

9.9
A line in a poem with eleven syllables
  • noun
  • /hɛnˈdɛkəˌsɪləbl/
  • Literature
translation icon : hendecásyllabo
  • The poet carefully crafted each hendecasyllable to create a rhythmic flow in his verses.

Examples

  • In Italian poetry, a hendecasyllable often serves as a versatile line for expressing complex emotions.

  • This tradition weighed far more heavily on Montale, and I believe on most modern Italian poets, than the hendecasyllable (the Italian line that corresponds to our iambic pentameter) or the sonnet.

    Academic text (2007)

  • The Spanish tongue was what she loved to speak and teach, and centuries ago its subsoil had been mined by the real poets, whose dactyls, trochees, and hendecasyllables she taught every day to set the rhythms of the language in her students' minds.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • Many classical works feature the hendecasyllable, showcasing its popularity among renowned poets.

How Long

alexandrine
  • Literature
1 9.9
hendecasyllable
  • Literature
9.9
octosyllable
  • Literature
9.9
disyllable
  • Specialized
7.9
monosyllable
2 6.3

Surface Forms

hendecasyllable singular
hendecasyllables plural

Morphology

hendecasyllable = syllable (semi-transparent) = hendeca + syllable

The element 'syllable' is transparent but the combining numeral 'hendeca-' meaning 'eleven' is rare and unfamiliar to many learners.

Etymology

The word hendecasyllable comes from Greek parts hendeka 'eleven' and syllable 'syllable'. So a hendecasyllable is a line of poetry with eleven syllables.