Asclepiad (poetry)

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An asclepiad is a line of poetry following a particular metrical pattern. The form is attributed to Asclepiades of Samos and is one of the Aeolic metres.

As with other Aeolic metrical lines, the asclepiad is built around a choriamb, to which one (lesser asclepiad) or two (greater asclepiad) other choriambs are added. Around this core of choriambs, iambic, spondaic, trochaic feet may be added to introduce and conclude the line. A common example of a greater asclepiad is a spondee followed by three choriambs and an iamb ( | '' | '~~' | '~~' | '~~' | '~ | ). The Asclepiad is also described as a "choriambically expanded glyconic" (West 1982), gl^c (lesser) or gl^2c (greater), where the glyconic is ( | xx | '~~' | ~' |)

Asclepiads were used by Horace, Catullus, and Seneca in Latin. Examples in English verse include parts of Sir Philip Sidney's Arcadia and W. H. Auden's "In Due Season".

[edit] References

Printed Sources

• West, M. L. (1982). Greek Metre. Oxford University Press.