866:
Unlike
Catullus, later poets show a definite trend toward ending the pentameter with a two-syllable word. In Catullus the proportion of disyllabic endings is 39%, not dissimilar to Greek practice; in Propertius book 1, this rises to 61%; but in the last two books endings other than a disyllabic word
860:
While
Catullus shows this rhyme in about 1 in 5 couplets, the later elegists use it more frequently. Propertius II.34, for example, has the rhyme in nearly half its pentameters. Rhyming between adjacent lines and even in the two halves of the hexameter is also observed, more than would be expected
640:
contain a few couplets, but it is the elegists of the mid-to-late first century BCE who are most commonly associated with the distinctive Roman form of the elegiac couplet. Catullus, the first of these, is an invaluable link between the
Alexandrine school and the subsequent elegies of
805:
is notorious as the pseudonym of Clodia. But as the form developed, this habit becomes more artificial; Tibullus' Delia and
Propertius' Cynthia, while likely real people, lack something of the specificity seen in Lesbia, while Ovid's Corinna is often considered a mere literary
785:
The form began to be applied to new themes beyond the traditional love, loss, and other "strong emotion" verse. Propertius uses it to relate aetiological or "origin" myths such as the origins of Rome (IV.1) and the Temple of Apollo on the
Palatine Hill (IV.6). Ovid's
891:
Overall there is a tendency to make the elegiac couplet increasingly dactylic. In
Catullus the proportion of dactylic feet (not counting the verse endings, which do not vary) is about 37%; this rises to 45% in Propertius books 2 and 3; and in Ovid's
759:). The vogue of elegy during this time is seen in the so-called 3rd and 4th books of Tibullus. Many poems in these books were clearly not written by Tibullus but by others, perhaps part of a circle under Tibullus' patron
457:
expanded use of the form to treat other themes, such as war, travel, and homespun philosophy. Between
Archilochus and other imitators, the verse form became a common poetic vehicle for conveying any strong emotion.
616:
made elegy its favorite and most highly developed form. They preferred the briefer style associated with elegy in contrast to the lengthier epic forms, and made it the singular medium for short
782:
The Roman authors often write about their own love affairs. In contrast to their Greek originals, these poets are characters in his own stories, and write about love in a highly subjective way.
709:– u u| – –| – u u|– – | – u u| – x Od'et a|mo. Qua|r'id faci|am, for|tasse re|quiris? – uu | – uu| – || – u u | – u u|– Nescio, | sed fie|ri || senti'et | excruci|or.
792:—though at first glance fictitious love letters—are described by Ovid himself as a new literary form, and can be read as character studies of famous heroines from mythology. Ovid's
431:(a form where a later verse is sung in response or comment to a previous one). Scholars, who even in the past did not know who created it, theorize the form was originally used in
775:
in the collection are thought by some to be an anonymous early work by Ovid, though other scholars attribute them to an imitator of Ovid who may have lived in a much later period.
1021:
writers, whose close study of their
Augustan counterparts reflects their general attempts to apply the cultural and literary forms of the ancient world to contemporary themes.
359:
The form was felt by the ancients to contrast the rising action of the first verse with a falling quality in the second. The sentiment is summarized in a line from Ovid's
778:
Through these poets—and in comparison with the earlier
Catullus—it is possible to trace specific characteristics and evolutionary patterns in the Roman form of the verse:
1005:
With the
Renaissance, more skilled writers interested in the revival of Roman culture attempted to recapture the spirit of the Augustan writers. The Dutch Latinist
963:
dabbled in the verse. The form also remained popular among the educated classes for gravestone epitaphs; many such epitaphs can be found in European cathedrals.
927:
uses it for many witty stand-alone couplets and for longer pieces. The trend continues through the remainder of the empire; short elegies appear in
715:, an important statesman of this period, was also regarded by the ancients as a great elegist, but, except for a few lines, his work has been lost.
243:
653:. He shows a familiarity with the usual Alexandrine style of terse epigram and a wealth of mythological learning, as in his 66th poem,
907:
Although no classical poet wrote collections of love elegies after Ovid, the verse retained its popularity as a vehicle for popular
469:
struck on the innovation of using the verse for erotic poetry. He composed several elegies celebrating his love for the flute girl
997:, it deviated from ancient practice because, as Ian Thompson writes, "no ancient drama would ever have been written in elegiacs."
1061:
1178:
823:
The pentameter begins to show a semi-regular "leonine" rhyme between the two halves of the verse, e.g. Tib. I.1–2, where the
816:
There is a trend toward the clear separation of the pentameter halves. Catullus, for example, allows an elision across the
502:
vented himself in couplets as an embittered aristocrat in a time of social change. Popular leaders were writers of elegies—
801:
The Romans adopted the Alexandrine habit of concealing the name of their beloved in the poem with a pseudonym. Catullus'
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236:
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760:
17:
473:, and though fragmentary today, his poetry was clearly influential in the later Roman development of the form.
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are very rare. In Tibullus book 1 the figure is 93%. Ovid has no exceptions to the disyllabic ending in his
442:—"Woe, cry woe, cry!" Hence, the form was used initially for funeral songs, typically accompanied by an
490:
The form continued to be popular throughout the Greek period and treated a number of different themes.
1138:. The Cambridge History of Classical Literature. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 1–81.
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Like many Greek forms, elegy was adapted by the Romans for their own literature. The fragments of
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wrote several lengthy elegies throughout his career. This trend continued down through the
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8:
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in this age. If anything, the elegists are even more interested in verbal effects like
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in 18 cases, a rare occurrence in the later poets (Ovid, for example, never does this).
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1089:"Barbarous Hexameters and Dainty Meters: Tennyson's Uses of Classical Versification"
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which employed elegiac couplets in imitation of Ovid. The medieval theorist
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After the fall of the empire, one writer who produced elegiac verse was
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is a lengthy elegiac poem on the first six months of the Roman calendar.
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The Juvenile Works of Ovid and the Spondaic Period of His Metrical Art
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Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association
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Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association
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says was inscribed on a stone to commemorate those who died at the
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To read it correctly it is necessary to take account of the three
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A famous example of an elegiac couplet is the epitaph composed by
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The poets become extremely strict with pentameters. For example:
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wrote that "all comedy is elegy, but the reverse is not true."
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The elegiac couplet is presumed to be the oldest Greek form of
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1009:, for example, included Catullus-inspired love elegies in his
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for a variety of themes usually of smaller scale than the
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The hexameter follows the usual rhetorical trends of the
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ending the first half of the pentameter rhymes with the
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verse. The following is a graphic representation of its
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1234:
Kenney, E. J. (2002). "Ovid's language and style". In
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Up goes the Hexameter with might as a fountain rising.
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I hate and I love. Why do I do this, perhaps you ask?
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In the hexameter rises the fountain's silvery column,
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The form reached its zenith with the collections of
601:"Say, stranger, in Sparta that you saw us lying here
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composed on political and ethical subjects—and even
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Im Hexameter steigt des Springquells silberne Säule,
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951:. Various Christian writers also adopted the form;
847: et teneat cultī iūgera multa solī
694:I know not, but I feel it happen and am tormented.
418:
Lightly the fountain falls, lightly the Pentameter.
1219:The Date of Lygdamus, and his Relationship to Ovid
955:wrote some of his hymns in the meter, while later
587:dīc hospes Spartae, nōs t(ē) hīc vīdisse iacentēs,
494:composed elegies on a war theme, apparently for a
483:—"The verse of Mimnermus is stronger in love than
1223:Proceedings of the Cambridge Philological Society
604:while we obey the sacred laws of our fatherland."
570:"O stranger, tell the Spartans that in this place
1279:
1047:
1000:
367:Sex mihi surgat opus numeris, in quinque residat
1126:A. W. Bulloch (1985). "Hellenistic poetry". In
763:. Notable in this collection are the poems of
674:Odi et amo. Quare id faciam, fortasse requiris?
438:, with the name "elegy" derived from the Greek
1202:The Ovidian Authorship of the Lygdamus Elegies
1167:Kitchell, Kenneth F. Jr.; Smith, Sean (2006).
1063:The Collected Works of Samuel Taylor Coleridge
873:, and only a few exceptions in his later work.
386:Im Pentameter drauf fällt sie melodisch herab.
1268:Reading Latin Verse Aloud: Metre and Scansion
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767:, thought to be the only surviving work by a
403:In the pentameter aye falling in melody back.
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556:ô xeîn᾿, angéllein Lakedaimoníois hóti têide
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1066:. Princeton University Press. p. 532.
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581:1.42.101), also using an elegiac couplet:
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911:. Elegiac verses appear, for example, in
539:ὦ ξεῖν᾿, ἀγγέλλειν Λακεδαιμονίοις ὅτι τῇδε
480:Plus in amore valet Mimnermi versus Homero
244:
230:
1217:For example, Lee, A. G. (January 1958). "
563:keímetha toîs keínōn rhḗmasi peithómenoi.
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348:is one long or two short syllables, and
1170:Catullus: A Legamus Transitional Reader
989:had a developed comedic genre known as
855:and hold many acres of cultivated land"
840:dīvitiās alius fulvō sibi congerat aurō
659:, a direct translation of Callimachus'
594:dum sānctīs patriae lēgibus obsequimur.
14:
1280:
771:female poet. The six elegiac poems of
682:Nescio, sed fieri sentio et excrucior.
546:κείμεθα τοῖς κείνων ῥήμασι πειθόμενοι.
1136:The Hellenistic Period and the Empire
27:Poetic form used by Greek lyric poets
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461:At the end of the 7th century BCE,
352:is one long or one short syllable (
24:
25:
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993:. Sometimes narrative, sometimes
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620:. The founder of this school was
577:Cicero translates it as follows (
573:we lie, obeying their commands."
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1255:, Vol. 51, pp. 151, 164, 169.
1144:10.1017/CHOL9780521210423.019
1087:A. A. Markley (Autumn 1998).
1041:
1001:Renaissance and modern period
935:and in the minor writings of
477:, to cite one example, notes
1273:What is Elegy? (Archive.org)
663:. His 85th poem is famous:
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731:and several collections of
392:translated into English by
295:Each couplet consists of a
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1314:
1225:, No. 5 (185), pp. 15–22).
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1236:Brill's Companion to Ovid
1013:, while the English poet
971:is an example of a Latin
719:Elegy in the Augustan Age
334:| – || – uu | – uu | –
260:is a poetic form used by
1247:Radford, R. S. (1920). "
1200:Radford, R. S. (1926). "
898:it rises as high as 57%.
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518:dabbled with the meter.
73:Latin rhythmic hexameter
1208:, Vol. 57, pp. 149–180.
1058:Samuel Taylor Coleridge
394:Samuel Taylor Coleridge
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88:Metres of Roman comedy
903:Post-Augustan writers
614:Library of Alexandria
531:battle of Thermopylae
409:Alfred, Lord Tennyson
34:Greek and Latin metre
1293:Ancient Greek poetry
1093:Studies in Philology
953:Venantius Fortunatus
342:one short syllable,
299:verse followed by a
93:Trochaic septenarius
301:dactylic pentameter
882:dactylic hexameter
831:closing the verse:
756:Epistulae ex Ponto
610:Hellenistic period
500:Theognis of Megara
371:Friedrich Schiller
297:dactylic hexameter
198:Resolution (meter)
168:Anaclasis (poetry)
123:Asclepiad (poetry)
83:Saturnian (poetry)
53:Dactylic hexameter
1180:978-0-86516-634-9
1132:Bernard M.W. Knox
1007:Johannes Secundus
968:De tribus puellis
909:occasional poetry
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1173:. p. xxix.
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440:ε, λεγε ε, λεγε
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183:Brevis in longo
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576:
562:
555:
520:
489:
460:
439:
426:
406:
391:
366:
361:
358:
349:
344:
343:
339:
335:
331:
327:
323:
319:
315:
311:
294:
257:
255:
208:Porson's Law
143:Anacreontics
108:Aeolic verse
68:Archilochian
57:
1015:John Milton
632:Roman elegy
626:Callimachus
579:Tusc. Disp.
533:in 490 BC:
455:Archilochus
448:double-reed
373:'s couplet
270:Roman poets
138:Ionic metre
1282:Categories
1073:0691004838
1042:References
949:Maximianus
729:Propertius
647:Propertius
498:audience.
475:Propertius
278:Propertius
1186:April 17,
1114:Epistulae
917:Satyricon
913:Petronius
527:Herodotus
516:Aristotle
463:Mimnermus
365:I.1.27 —
218:Catalexis
163:Lekythion
1134:(eds.).
1060:(2001).
1025:See also
995:dramatic
959:and the
937:Ausonius
929:Apuleius
925:Epigrams
789:Heroides
773:Lygdamus
765:Sulpicia
761:Messalla
746:Heroides
725:Tibullus
704:elisions
643:Tibullus
618:epigrams
492:Tyrtaeus
467:Colophon
305:scansion
282:Tibullus
274:Catullus
158:Dochmiac
118:Glyconic
113:Choriamb
103:Choliamb
1031:Elegiac
974:fabliau
921:Martial
818:caesura
806:device.
750:Tristia
608:By the
496:Spartan
407:and by
284:, and
1177:
1150:
1110:Horace
1070:
979:comedy
957:Alcuin
919:, and
870:Amores
803:Lesbia
753:, and
738:Amores
638:Ennius
612:, the
525:which
508:Athens
436:dirges
433:Ionian
411:, as:
362:Amores
354:anceps
188:Anceps
825:culti
795:Fasti
735:(the
512:Plato
504:Solon
485:Homer
471:Nanno
444:aulos
1188:2006
1175:ISBN
1148:ISBN
1068:ISBN
829:soli
733:Ovid
727:and
651:Ovid
649:and
514:and
446:, a
396:as:
330:| –
322:| –
318:| –
314:| –
286:Ovid
266:epic
256:The
1251:".
1221:".
1204:".
1140:doi
923:'s
487:".
465:of
453:.
356:).
268:.
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1146:.
1130:;
1112:,
1097:98
1095:.
1091:.
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748:,
744:,
740:,
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320:uu
316:uu
312:uu
310:–
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280:,
276:,
1190:.
1156:.
1142::
1076:.
350:x
340:u
336:–
245:e
238:t
231:v
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