hexameter
Epic poetry's meter
Hexameter is a line of verse containing six metrical feet, the dominant meter of Greek and Latin epic poetry.
Homer's *Iliad* and *Odyssey* and Virgil's *Aeneid* are composed in dactylic hexameter, where each foot is typically a dactyl (one long syllable followed by two short) or a spondee.
The form has been adapted into English poetry, though it sits less naturally in a language without the long-short vowel distinctions of classical verse.
Ancient Greek epic composer
Aeneid · Metamorphoses · Theogony · Latin · Greek · Homeric · Lucretius · epic
Three-beat poetic meter
- dactylFinger, toe, or verse foot
- spondeeDouble-stress metrical unit
- scansionAnalyzing verse rhythm patterns
- prosodyStudy of verse rhythm
foot · caesura · quantitative · thesis · elision · substitution · metrical · six feet
Composing in meter
- lineationDivision into lines
- enjambmentUnpaused verse continuation
- cadenceRhythmic pulse or pattern
- stressPressure, mental or vocal
recitation · oral poetry · formulaic · epithet · verse · run-on · rhythm · flow
Homer
Ancient Greek epic composer
Odyssey · Aeneid · Metamorphoses · Theogony · Latin · Greek · Homeric · Lucretius · epic · didactic
dactylic
Three-beat poetic meter
- dactylFinger, toe, or verse foot
- spondeeDouble-stress metrical unit
- scansionAnalyzing verse rhythm patterns
prosody · foot · caesura · quantitative · thesis · elision · substitution · metrical · six feet
versification
Composing in meter
- lineationDivision into lines
- enjambmentUnpaused verse continuation
- cadenceRhythmic pulse or pattern
stress · recitation · oral poetry · formulaic · epithet · verse · run-on · rhythm · flow · scanning
heroic
Exceptionally brave and noble
- narrativeAccount of events
- invocationCalling upon higher authority
- MuseArts-inspiring deity
catalogue · simile · epithets · oral tradition · bard · saga · mythology · legend · quest · stock phrases