alexandrine
/ælig'zændrain/
Definition
Noun: * In poetry, an allexandrine is a line of verse consisting of twelve syllables, traditionally with a pause (caesura) after the sixth syllable. In English prosody, it is specifically defined as a line of iambic hexameter, meaning it has six iambic feet (an iamb is a metrical foot of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable: da-DUM).
Usage
The alexandrine is used as a formal poetic line, often for a dignified or elevated effect. It is the standard line in French classical drama (e.g., the plays of Racine and Corneille). In English poetry, it is sometimes used to vary the rhythm within a poem, such as providing a concluding line to a stanza of shorter lines.
Examples
- The final, solemn line of the stanza was a perfect alexandrine.
- The poet skillfully employed an alexandrine to slow the pace and add gravity to the verse.
- French classical tragedy is written entirely in rhyming alexandrines.
Advanced Usage
- The Spenserian Stanza: The English poet Edmund Spenser used a stanza form in that concludes with an alexandrine. The stanza consists of eight lines of iambic pentameter followed by one iambic hexameter (an alexandrine).
- Example: "A gentle knight was pricking on the plaine, / Ycladd in mightie armes and silver shielde, / Wherein old dints of deepe wounds did remaine, / The cruell markes of many a bloudy fielde; / Yet armes till that time did he never wield: / His angry steede did chide his foming bitt, / As much disdayning to the curbe to yield: / Full jolly knight he seemd, and faire did sitt, / As one for knightly giusts and fierce encounters fitt." (The final line is the alexandrine.)
Variants and Related Words
- Alexandrian (adjective): Pertaining to the city of Alexandria or its culture. In a literary context, it can describe a learned, elaborate, or scholarly style, reminiscent of the Hellenistic scholars of Alexandria. (Note: This is a distinct word from "alexandrine," though they share an etymological root.)
Synonyms
- Iambic hexameter (This is the specific metrical description of an English alexandrine).
Related Idioms or Phrases
- While not an idiom, the term "broken alexandrine" is used to describe a line that has the requisite twelve syllables but an irregular or disrupted metrical pattern.
Noun
-
(prosody) a line of verse that has six iambic feet
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