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An acrostic is a
poem Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...
or other word composition in which the ''first'' letter (or syllable, or word) of each new line (or
paragraph A paragraph () is a self-contained unit of discourse in writing dealing with a particular point or idea. Though not required by the orthographic conventions of any language with a writing system, paragraphs are a conventional means of organizing ...
, or other recurring feature in the text) spells out a word, message or the alphabet. The term comes from the French from post-classical
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
, from
Koine Greek Koine Greek (, ), also variously known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek, Septuagint Greek or New Testament Greek, was the koiné language, common supra-regional form of Greek language, Greek spoken and ...
, from
Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
"highest, topmost" and "verse". As a form of
constrained writing Constrained writing is a literary technique in which the writer is bound by some condition that forbids certain things or imposes a pattern. Constraints are very common in poetry, which often requires the writer to use a particular verse form. D ...
, an acrostic can be used as a
mnemonic A mnemonic device ( ), memory trick or memory device is any learning technique that aids information retention or retrieval in the human memory, often by associating the information with something that is easier to remember. It makes use of e ...
device to aid memory retrieval. When the ''last'' letter of each new line (or other recurring feature) forms a word it is called a telestich (or telestic); the combination of an acrostic and a telestich in the same composition is called a double acrostic (e.g. the first-century Latin
Sator Square The Sator Square (or Rotas-Sator Square or Templar Magic Square) is a two-dimensional acrostic class of word square containing a five-word Latin palindrome. The earliest squares were found at Roman-era sites, all in ROTAS-form (where the top l ...
). Acrostics are common in medieval literature, where they usually serve to highlight the name of the poet or his patron, or to make a prayer to a saint. They are most frequent in verse works but can also appear in prose. The Middle High German poet
Rudolf von Ems Rudolf von Ems ( – 1254) was a Middle High German narrative poet. Life Rudolf von Ems was born in the Vorarlberg in Austria. He took his name from the castle of Hohenems near Bregenz, and was a knight in the service of the Counts of Montfor ...
for example opens all his great works with an acrostic of his name, and his world chronicle marks the beginning of each age with an acrostic of the key figure (Moses, David, etc.). In chronicles, acrostics are common in German and English but rare in other languages.


Form

Relatively simple acrostics may merely spell out the letters of the alphabet in order; such an acrostic may be called an 'alphabetical acrostic' or
abecedarius An abecedarius (also abecedary and abecedarian) is a special type of acrostic in which the first letter of every word, strophe or verse follows the order of the letters in the alphabet. Etymology "Abecedarius" (or "abecedarium") is a Medieval ...
. These acrostics occur in the
Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Book of Lamentations The Book of Lamentations (, , from its incipit meaning "how") is a collection of poetic laments for the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BCE. In the Hebrew Bible, it appears in the Ketuvim ("Writings") as one of the Five Megillot ("Five Scroll ...
, in the praise of the good wife in
Proverbs 31 Proverbs 31 is the 31st and final chapter of the Book of Proverbs in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. Verses 1 to 9 present the advice which King Lemuel's mother gave to him, about how a just king should reign. The r ...
:10-31, and in
Psalm The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of H ...
s 9-10, 25, 34, 37, 111, 112, 119 and 145. Notable among the acrostic Psalms is the long
Psalm 119 Psalm 119 is the 119th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in the English of the King James Version: "Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord". The Book of Psalms is in the third section of the Hebrew Bible, the ...
, which typically is printed in subsections named after the 22 letters of the
Hebrew alphabet The Hebrew alphabet (, ), known variously by scholars as the Ktav Ashuri, Jewish script, square script and block script, is a unicase, unicameral abjad script used in the writing of the Hebrew language and other Jewish languages, most notably ...
, each section consisting of 8 verses, each of which begins with the same letter of the alphabet and the entire psalm consisting of 22 x 8 = 176 verses; and
Psalm 145 Psalm 145 is the 145th psalm of the Book of Psalms, generally known in English by its first verse, in the King James Version, "I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever". In Latin, it is known as "Exaltabo ...
, which is recited three times a day in the
Jewish services Jewish prayer (, ; plural ; , plural ; Yinglish: davening from Yiddish 'pray') is the prayer recitation that forms part of the observance of Rabbinic Judaism. These prayers, often with instructions and commentary, are found in the ...
. Some acrostic psalms are technically imperfect. For example,
Psalm 9 Psalm 9 is the ninth psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works." In Latin, it is known as "Confitebor tibi, Domine". ...
and
Psalm 10 Psalm 10 is the tenth psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Why standest thou afar off, O LORD? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?" In the Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate, it is not an i ...
appear to constitute a single acrostic psalm together, but the length assigned to each letter is unequal and five of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet are not represented and the sequence of two letters is reversed. In Psalm 25 one Hebrew letter is not represented, the following letter () repeated. In Psalm 34 the current final verse, 23, does fit verse 22 in content, but adds an additional line to the poem. In Psalms 37 and 111 the numbering of verses and the division into lines are interfering with each other; as a result in Psalm 37, for the letters and there is only one verse, and the letter is not represented. Psalm 111 and 112 have 22 lines, but 10 verses. Psalm 145 does not represent the letter , having 21 one verses, but one Qumran manuscript of this Psalm does have that missing line, which agrees with the
Septuagint The Septuagint ( ), sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy (), and abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew. The full Greek ...
. Some, like O Palmer Robertson, see the acrostic Psalms of book 1 and book 5 of Psalms as teaching and memory devices as well as transitions between subjects in the structure of the Psalms. Often the ease of detectability of an acrostic can depend on the intention of its creator. In some cases an author may desire an acrostic to have a better chance of being perceived by an observant reader, such as the acrostic contained in the ''
Hypnerotomachia Poliphili ''Hypnerotomachia Poliphili'' (; ), called in English ''Poliphilo's Strife of Love in a Dream'' or ''The Dream of Poliphilus'', is a book said to be by Francesco Colonna. It is a famous example of an incunable (a work of early printing). The wor ...
'' (where the key capital letters are decorated with ornate embellishments). However, acrostics may also be used as a form of
steganography Steganography ( ) is the practice of representing information within another message or physical object, in such a manner that the presence of the concealed information would not be evident to an unsuspecting person's examination. In computing/ ...
, where the author seeks to conceal the message rather than proclaim it. This might be achieved by making the key letters uniform in appearance with the surrounding text, or by aligning the words in such a way that the relationship between the key letters is less obvious. These are referred to as ''
null cipher A null cipher, also known as concealment cipher, is an ancient form of encryption where the plaintext is mixed with a large amount of non-cipher material. Today it is regarded as a simple form of steganography, which can be used to hide cipherte ...
s'' in steganography, using the first letter of each word to form a hidden message in an otherwise innocuous text. Using letters to hide a message, as in acrostic ciphers, was popular during the
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
, and could employ various methods of enciphering, such as selecting other letters than initials based on a repeating pattern ( equidistant letter sequences), or even concealing the message by starting at the end of the text and working backwards.


Examples


Greek

A well-known acrostic in Greek is for the phrase ''JESUS CHRIST, GOD’S SON, SAVIOUR'', the initial letters of which spell (
ICHTHYS The ichthys or ichthus (), from the Greek (, 1st cent. AD Koinē Greek pronunciation: , "fish") is, in its modern rendition, a symbol consisting of two intersecting arcs, the ends of the right side extending beyond the meeting point so as to ...
), which means ''fish'': Ιησοῦς I Jesus Χριστός CH Christ Θεοῦ TH God's Υἱός Y Son Σωτήρ S Saviour According to
Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...
, acrostics were a regular feature of Sibylline prophecies (which were written in Greek
hexameter Hexameter is a metrical line of verses consisting of six feet (a "foot" here is the pulse, or major accent, of words in an English line of poetry; in Greek as well as in Latin a "foot" is not an accent, but describes various combinations of s ...
s. The type of acrostic is that known as a “gamma acrostic” (from the shape of the Greek letter ), where the same words are found both horizontally and vertically. Cicero refers to an acrostic in this passage using the Greek word . The 3rd-century BC didactic poet
Aratus Aratus (; ; c. 315/310 240 BC) was a Greek didactic poet. His major extant work is his hexameter poem ''Phenomena'' (, ''Phainómena'', "Appearances"; ), the first half of which is a verse setting of a lost work of the same name by Eudoxus of Cn ...
, who was much admired and imitated by Cicero, Virgil and other Latin writers, appears to have started a fashion for using acrostics. One example is the famous passage in ''Phaenomena'' 783–7 where the word occurs as a gamma acrostic and also twice in the text, as well as diagonally in the text and even cryptically taking the initial letters of certain words in lines 2 and 1: : : : : : : : : : : :“If (the moon is) slender and clear about the third day, :she will bode fair weather; if slender and very red, :wind; if the crescent is thickish, with blunted horns, :having a feeble fourth-day light after the third day, :either it is blurred by a southerly or because rain is in the offing.” (trans. Jerzy Danielewicz)


Latin

Several acrostics have recently been discovered in Roman poets, especially in
Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...
. Among others, in ''Eclogue'' 9 the acrostic (lines 34–38) immediately precedes the words , and (i.e. ) (lines 46–51) in a passage which mentions the goddess Dione (another name for
Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...
)., citing In ''Eclogue'' 8, alongside a passage dedicating the poem to an unnamed person and asking him to accept it, Neil Adkin reads the words (i.e. ) (). In ''Aeneid'' 7.601–4, a passage which mentions
Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...
and war, describing the custom of opening the gates of the Temple of Janus, the name (the god of war) appears in acrostic form as well as in the text as follows: : : : : :“It was a custom in Hesperian
Latium Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire. Definition Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil (Old Latium) on whic ...
, which originally the Alban :cities kept as sacred, and now, greatest of entities, :Rome keeps, whenever they move
Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...
to the first battles, :whether (they are preparing) to bring tearful war to the
Getae The Getae or Getai ( or , also Getans) were a large nation who inhabited the regions to either side of the Lower Danube in what is today northern Bulgaria and southern Romania, throughout much of Classical Antiquity. The main source of informa ...
 …” In ''Georgics'' 1 429–433, next to a passage which contains the words , the double-letter reverse acrostic ''MA VE PV'' (i.e. Publius Vergilius Maro) is found on alternate lines. In
Eclogue 6 Eclogue 6 (''Ecloga'' VI; ''Bucolica'' VI) is a pastoral poem by the Latin poet Virgil. In BC 40, a new distribution of lands took place in North Italy, and Alfenus Varus and Cornelius Gallus were appointed to carry it out. At his request that the ...
, 13–24 Virgil uses a double acrostic, with the same word going both upwards and downwards starting from the same letter L in line 19. Another double acrostic is found in ''Aeneid 2'', where the word ''PITHI'' (i.e. , Greek for he ‘persuades’ or ‘he deceives’) is found first backwards at 103–107, then forwards at 142–146, at the beginning and end of a speech by Sinon persuading the Trojans to bring the wooden horse into the city. The discoverer of this acrostic, Neil Adkin, points out that the same word occurs at more or less exactly the same line-numbers in a repeated line describing how Odysseus’ wife Penelope deceived the suitors in ''
Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...
'' 2.106 and 24.141. Another transliterated Greek word used as an acrostic in a pseudo-Sibylline prophecy has recently been noticed in the syllables ''DE CA TE'' (i.e. Greek ) in
Eclogue 4 ''Eclogue'' 4, also known as the Fourth ''Eclogue'', is a Latin poem by the Roman poet Virgil. The poem is dated to 40 BC by its mention of the consulship of Virgil's patron Gaius Asinius Pollio. The work predicts the birth of a boy, a suppose ...
, 9–11, with the same ''DEC A TE'' repeated cryptically both forwards and backwards in line 11. In another pseudo-Sibylline prophecy in poem 5 of Tibullus book 2 the words ‘hear me!’ are picked out in the first letters of alternate lines at the beginning of the prophecy. Virgil’s friend
Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 BC – 27 November 8 BC), Suetonius, Life of Horace commonly known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). Th ...
also made occasional use of acrostics, but apparently much less than Virgil. Examples are ‘learn!’ (''Odes'' 1.18.11–15) (forming a gamma acrostic with the word in line 18) and in ''Satires'' 1.2.7–10, which appears just after Horace has been advised to take a rest from writing satire. The acrostic also occurs in
Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso (; 20 March 43 BC – AD 17/18), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he i ...
, ''Metamorphoses'' 15.478–81, a passage describing the return of the peace-loving king
Numa Pompilius Numa Pompilius (; 753–672 BC; reigned 715–672 BC) was the Roman mythology, legendary second king of Rome, succeeding Romulus after a one-year interregnum. He was of Sabine origin, and many of Rome's most important religious and political ins ...
to Rome. ''Odes'' 4.2, which starts with the word '(the poet) Pindar' has next to it the truncated acrostic PIN in a gamma formation. In the first poem of Horace's ''Epodes'' (which were also known as 'iambics'), the first two lines begin , and it has been suggested that these words were deliberately chosen so that their initial letters IBI ... AM could be rearranged to read IAMBI. Towards the end of the 2nd century AD a verse-summary of the plot was added to each of the plays of
Plautus Titus Maccius Plautus ( ; 254 – 184 BC) was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the genre devised by Livius Andro ...
. Each of these has an acrostic of the name of the play, for example: : : : : : : :“Two fellow slaves seek a fellow female slave as a wife; :The old man commissions one of them, his son the other. :A lottery helps the old man; but he is deceived by tricks. :So, instead of the girl, a young slave is substituted, :a naughty one, who beats up the master and the farm-manager. :The young man marries Casina after she is recognised as a citizen.” The 3rd century AD poet Commodian wrote a series of 80 short poems on Christian themes called . Each of these is fully acrostic (with the exception of poem 60, where the initial letters are in alphabetical order), starting with ‘preface’ and ‘the wrath of God’. The initials of poem 80, read backwards, give ‘Commodian, Christ’s beggar’.


Mandaean

Chapters 2–5 of Book 12 in the ''
Right Ginza The Right Ginza () is one of the two parts of the Ginza Rabba, the longest and the most important holy scripture of Mandaeism. The other part of the Ginza Rabba is the Left Ginza. Summaries of each book (or tractate), based mostly on Häberl ( ...
'', a Mandaic text, are acrostic hymns, with each stanza ordered according to a letter of the
Mandaic alphabet The Mandaic alphabet is a writing system primarily used to write the Mandaic language. It is thought to have evolved between the second and seventh century CE from either a cursive form of Aramaic (as did Syriac) or from Inscriptional Parthia ...
.


Dutch

There is an acrostic secreted in the Dutch national anthem ''
Wilhelmus "Wilhelmus van Nassouwe", known simply as "Wilhelmus", or written with the article as "Het Wilhelmus", is the national anthem of both the Netherlands and its sovereign state, the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It dates back to at least 1572, makin ...
'' (''William''): the first letters of its fifteen stanzas spell WILLEM VAN NASSAU. This was one of the hereditary titles of William of Orange (
William the Silent William the Silent or William the Taciturn (; 24 April 153310 July 1584), more commonly known in the Netherlands as William of Orange (), was the leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish Habsburg Netherlands, Habsburgs that set off the ...
), who introduces himself in the poem to the Dutch people. This title also returned in the 2010
speech from the throne A speech from the throne, or throne speech, is an event in certain monarchies in which the reigning sovereign, or their representative, reads a prepared speech to members of the nation's legislature when a Legislative session, session is opened. ...
, during the Dutch State Opening of Parliament, whose first 15 lines also formed WILLEM VAN NASSOV.


English

Vladimir Nabokov Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov ( ; 2 July 1977), also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin (), was a Russian and American novelist, poet, translator, and entomologist. Born in Imperial Russia in 1899, Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Rus ...
's short story "
The Vane Sisters "The Vane Sisters" is a short story by Vladimir Nabokov, written in March 1951. It is famous for providing one of the most extreme examples of an unreliable narrator. It was first published in the Winter 1958 issue of ''The Hudson Review'' and the ...
" is known for its acrostic final paragraph, which contains a message from beyond the grave. In 1829,
Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...
wrote an acrostic and simply titled it ''An Acrostic'', possibly dedicated to his cousin Elizabeth Rebecca Herring (though the initials L.E.L. refer to
Letitia Elizabeth Landon Letitia Elizabeth Landon (14 August 1802 – 15 October 1838) was an English poet and novelist, better known by her initials L.E.L. Landon's writings are emblematic of the transition from Romanticism to Victorian literature. Her first major b ...
): Elizabeth it is in vain you say "Love not" — thou sayest it in so sweet a way: In vain those words from thee or L.E.L. Zantippe's talents had enforced so well: Ah! if that language from thy heart arise, Breath it less gently forth — and veil thine eyes. Endymion, recollect, when Luna tried To cure his love — was cured of all beside — His folly — pride — and passion — for he died. In 1939,
Rolfe Humphries George Rolfe Humphries (November 20, 1894 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – April 22, 1969 in Redwood City, California) was a poet, translator, and teacher. Life An alumnus of Towanda High School, Humphries graduated cum laude from Amherst Co ...
received a lifelong ban from contributing to ''Poetry'' magazine after he penned and attempted to publish "a poem containing a concealed scurrilous phrase aimed at a well-known person", namely
Nicholas Murray Butler Nicholas Murray Butler (April 2, 1862 – December 7, 1947) was an American philosopher, diplomat, and educator. Butler was president of Columbia University, president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a recipient of the Nobel ...
. The poem, entitled "An ode for a Phi Beta Kappa affair", was in unrhymed iambic pentameter, contained one classical
reference A reference is a relationship between objects in which one object designates, or acts as a means by which to connect to or link to, another object. The first object in this relation is said to ''refer to'' the second object. It is called a ''nam ...
per line, and ran as follows: Niobe's daughters yearn to the womb again, Ionians bright and fair, to the chill stone; Chaos in cry,
Actaeon In Greek mythology, Actaeon (; ''Aktaiōn'') was the son of the priestly herdsman Aristaeus and Autonoe in Boeotia, and a famous Thebes, Greece, Theban Greek hero cult, hero. Through his mother he was a member of the ruling House of Cadmus. Like ...
's angry pack, Hounds of Molossus, shaggy wolves driven Over Ampsanctus' vale and
Pentheus In Greek mythology, Pentheus (; ) was a king of Ancient Thebes (Boeotia), Thebes. His father was Echion, the wisest of the Spartoi. His mother was Agave (Theban princess), Agave, the daughter of Cadmus, the founder of Thebes, and grandson of the ...
' glade, Laelaps and Ladon, Dromas,
Canace In Greek mythology, Canace (; ) was a Thessalian princess, the daughter of King Aeolus of Aeolia and Enarete, daughter of Deimachus. She was sometimes referred to as Aeolis. Family Canace was the sister of Athamas, Cretheus, Deioneus, Magn ...
, As these in fury harry brake and hill So the great dogs of evil bay the world. Memory, Mother of
Muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...
s, be resigned Until King
Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant, with an average radius of about 9 times that of Earth. It has an eighth the average density of Earth, but is over 95 tim ...
comes to rule again! Remember now no more the golden day Remember now no more the fading gold, Astraea fled,
Proserpina Proserpina ( ; ) or Proserpine ( ) is an ancient Roman goddess whose iconography, functions and myths are virtually identical to those of Greek Persephone. Proserpina replaced or was combined with the ancient Roman fertility goddess Libera, whos ...
in
hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location or state in the afterlife in which souls are subjected to punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history sometimes depict hells as eternal destinations, such as Christianity and I ...
; You searchers of the earth be reconciled! Because, through all the blight of human woe, Under Robigo's rust, and
Clotho Clotho (; ) or Klotho, is a mythological figure. She was one of the Three Fates or Moirai. In ancient Greek mythology, she spins the thread of human life, her sisters draw out ( Lachesis) and cut ( Atropos) the thread. She also made major dec ...
's shears, The mind of man still keeps its argosies, Lacedaemonian Helen wakes her tower, Echo replies, and lamentation loud Reverberates from
Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...
to
Delos Delos (; ; ''Dêlos'', ''Dâlos''), is a small Greek island near Mykonos, close to the centre of the Cyclades archipelago. Though only in area, it is one of the most important mythological, historical, and archaeological sites in Greece. ...
Isle; Itylus grieves, for whom the
nightingale The common nightingale, rufous nightingale or simply nightingale (''Luscinia megarhynchos''), is a small passerine bird which is best known for its powerful and beautiful song. It was formerly classed as a member of the thrush family Turdidae, ...
Sweetly as ever tunes her Daulian strain. And over
Tenedos Tenedos (, ''Tenedhos''; ), or Bozcaada in Turkish language, Turkish, is an island of Turkey in the northeastern part of the Aegean Sea. Administratively, the island constitutes the Bozcaada, Çanakkale, Bozcaada district of Çanakkale Provinc ...
the flagship burns. How shall men loiter when the great moon shines Opaque upon the sail, and
Argive Argos (; ; ) is a city and former municipality in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, and the oldest in Europe. It is the largest city in Argolis and a major center in the same pr ...
seas Rear like blue dolphins their cerulean curves? Samos is fallen,
Lesbos Lesbos or Lesvos ( ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of , with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, eighth largest ...
streams with fire, Etna in rage,
Canopus Canopus is the brightest star in the southern constellation of Carina (constellation), Carina and the list of brightest stars, second-brightest star in the night sky. It is also Bayer designation, designated α Carinae, which is Rom ...
cold in hate, Summon the Orphic bard to stranger dreams. And so for us who raise
Athene Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress o ...
's torch. Sufficient to her message in this hour: Sons of Columbia, awake, arise!
Acrostic: Nicholas Murray Butler is a horse's ass. In October 2009,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...
sent a
note Note, notes, or NOTE may refer to: Music and entertainment * Musical note, a pitched sound (or a symbol for a sound) in music * ''Notes'' (album), a 1987 album by Paul Bley and Paul Motian * ''Notes'', a common (yet unofficial) shortened versi ...
to assemblyman
Tom Ammiano Tom Ammiano (born December 15, 1941) is an American politician and LGBT rights activist from San Francisco, California. Ammiano, a member of the California Legislative LGBT Caucus, served as a member of the California State Assembly from 2008 t ...
in which the first letters of lines 3-9 spell "Fuck You"; Schwarzenegger claimed that the acrostic message was coincidental, which mathematicians Stephen Devlin and Philip Stark disputed as statistically implausible. In January 2010,
Jonathan I. Schwartz Jonathan Ian Schwartz (born October 20, 1965) is an American businessman. He is president and CEO of CareZone, a firm intending to lower the price of prescription drugs for people with chronic illness. Before founding CareZone, Schwartz had a ...
, the CEO of
Sun Microsystems Sun Microsystems, Inc., often known as Sun for short, was an American technology company that existed from 1982 to 2010 which developed and sold computers, computer components, software, and information technology services. Sun contributed sig ...
, sent an email to Sun employees on the completion of the acquisition of Sun by
Oracle Corporation Oracle Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational computer technology company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Co-founded in 1977 in Santa Clara, California, by Larry Ellison, who remains executive chairman, Oracle was ...
. The initial letters of the first seven paragraphs spelled "Beat
IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...
".
James May James Daniel May (born 16 January 1963) is an English television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a co-presenter, alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond, of the motoring programme ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), Top Gear'' fr ...
, former presenter on the BBC program ''
Top Gear Top Gear may refer to: * "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission Television * ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme * ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the ori ...
'', was fired from the publication '' Autocar'' for spelling out a message using the large red
initial In a written or published work, an initial is a letter at the beginning of a word, a chapter (books), chapter, or a paragraph that is larger than the rest of the text. The word is ultimately derived from the Latin ''initiālis'', which means '' ...
at the beginning of each review in the publication's ''Road Test Yearbook Issue'' for 1992. Properly punctuated, the message reads: "So you think it's really good, yeah? You should try making the bloody thing up; it's a real pain in the arse." In the 2012 third novel of his ''Caged Flower'' series, author Cullman Wallace used acrostics as a plot device. The parents of a protagonist send e-mails where the first letters of the lines reveal their situation in a concealed message. On 19 August 2017, the members of president
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
's Committee on Arts and Humanities resigned in protest over his response to the
Unite the Right rally The Unite the Right rally was a White supremacy#United States, white supremacist rally that took place in Charlottesville, Virginia, from August 11 to 12, 2017. Marchers included members of the alt-right, neo-Confederates, neo-fascists, whi ...
incident in Charlottesville, Virginia. The members' letter of resignation contained the acrostic "RESIST" formed from the first letter of each paragraph. On 23 August 2017,
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
energy professor Daniel Kammen resigned from his position as a State Department science envoy with a resignation letter in which the word "IMPEACH" was spelled out by the first letters of each paragraph. In the video game ''
Zork ''Zork'' is a text adventure game first released in 1977 by developers Tim Anderson (programmer), Tim Anderson, Marc Blank, Bruce Daniels, and Dave Lebling for the PDP-10 mainframe computer. The original developers and others, as the company ...
'' the first letters of sentences in a prayer spelled "
Odysseus In Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology, Odysseus ( ; , ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; ), is a legendary Greeks, Greek king of Homeric Ithaca, Ithaca and the hero of Homer's Epic poetry, epic poem, the ''Odyssey''. Od ...
" which was a possible solution to a
Cyclops In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; , ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguished. In Hesiod's ''Th ...
encounter in another room. On 4 May 2024, Noelia Voigt resigned as
Miss USA 2023 Miss USA 2023 was the 72nd Miss USA pageant, held at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada, on September 29, 2023. ''All times in this article are Pacific Time Zone ( UTC-7)'' Morgan Romano of North Carolina crowned Noelia Voigt of Utah as ...
with a resignation letter containing an acrostic spelling out "I am silenced".


Multiple acrostics


Double acrostics

A double acrostic, may have words at the beginning and end of its lines, as in this example, on the name of
Stroud Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Sited below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the ...
, by Paul Hansford: S et among hills in the midst of five valley S, T his peaceful little market town we inhabi T R efuses (vociferously!) to be a conforme R. O nce home of the cloth it gave its name t O, U phill and down again its streets lead yo U. D espite its faults it leaves us all charme D. The first letters make up the acrostic and the last letters the telestich; in this case they are identical. Another example of a double acrostic is the first-century Latin
Sator Square The Sator Square (or Rotas-Sator Square or Templar Magic Square) is a two-dimensional acrostic class of word square containing a five-word Latin palindrome. The earliest squares were found at Roman-era sites, all in ROTAS-form (where the top l ...
. As well as being a double acrostic, the square contains several
palindromes A palindrome ( /ˈpæl.ɪn.droʊm/) is a word, number, phrase, or other sequence of symbols that reads the same backwards as forwards, such as ''madam'' or '' racecar'', the date " 02/02/2020" and the sentence: "A man, a plan, a canal – Pana ...
, and it can be read as a 25-letter palindromic sentence (of an obscure meaning).


Complex acrostics

200px The poem ''Behold, O God!'', by William Browne, can be considered a complex kind of acrostic. In the manuscript, some letters are capitalized and written extra-large, non-italic, and in red, and the lines are shifted left or right and internally spaced out as necessary to position the red letters within three crosses that extend through all the lines of the poem. The letters within each cross spell out a verse from the
New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
: *left:
Luke 23 Luke 23 is the twenty-third chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament of the Christianity, Christian Bible. The book containing this chapter is Anonymity, anonymous, but early Christian tradition uniformly affirmed that Luke the Evangelis ...
:42: "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." *middle:
Matthew 27 Matthew 27 is the 27th chapter in the Gospel of Matthew, part of the New Testament in the Christian Bible. This chapter contains Matthew's record of the day of the trial, crucifixion and burial of Jesus. Scottish theologian William Robertson Nico ...
:46: "O God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" *right:
Luke 23 Luke 23 is the twenty-third chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament of the Christianity, Christian Bible. The book containing this chapter is Anonymity, anonymous, but early Christian tradition uniformly affirmed that Luke the Evangelis ...
:39: "If thou art the Christ, save thyself and us." The "
INRI In the New Testament, Jesus is referred to as the King of the Jews, both at the beginning of his life and at the end. In the Koine Hellenic of the New Testament, e.g., in John 19:3, this is written as ''Basileus ton Ioudaion'' (). Both uses o ...
" at the top of the middle cross stands for '','' , Latin for "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" ( John 19:19). The three quotes represent the three figures crucified on Golgotha, as recorded in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. (The text of the manuscript shown differs significantly from the text usually published, including in the reference. Many of the lines have somewhat different wording; and while the acrostics are the same as far as they go, the published text is missing the last four lines, truncating the acrostics to "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kin", "O God, my God, why hast thou forsak", and "If thou art the Christ, save thyself". The manuscript text is printed below, first as normal poetry, then spaced and bolded to bring out the acrostics. The word "Thou" in line 8 is not visible in this photograph, but is in the published version and is included in a cross-stitch sampler of the poem from 1793.) Behold, O God! In rivers of my tears I come to thee! bow down thy blessed ears To hear my Plaint; and let thine eyes which keep Continual watch behold a Sinner weep: Let not, O God my God my Sins, tho' great, And numberless, between thy Mercy's-Seat And my poor Soul have place; since we are taught, ''
hou Hou or HOU may refer to: Places * Hou (Odder Municipality), a town in Denmark * Hellenic Open University, in Patras, Greece * Hounslow railway station (National Rail station code: HOU), London, England * A common abbreviation for the U.S. city ...
' Lord, remember'st thyne, if Thou art sought. I come not, Lord, with any other merit Than what I by my Saviour Christ inherit: Be then his wounds my balm— his stripes my Bliss; His thorns my crown; my death be blest in his. And thou, my blest Redeemer, Saviour, God, Quit my accounts, withhold thy vengeful rod! O beg for me, my hopes on Thee are set; And Christ forgive me, since thou'st paid my debt The living font, the Life, the Way, I know, And but to thee, O whither shall I go? All other helps are vain: grant thine to me, For in thy cross my saving health I see. O hearken then, that I with faith implore, Lest Sin and Death sink me to rise no more. Lastly, O God, my course direct and guide, In Death defend me, that I never slide; And at Doomsday let me be rais'd again, To live with thee sweet Jesus say, Amen.
Behold, O God! IN RI vers of my tears I come to thee! bow down thy blessed ears To hear my Plaint; and let thine eyes which keep Continual watch behold a Sinner weep: Let not, O GOD my GOD my Sins, tho' great, And numberless, bet-W-een thy Mercy's-Seat And my poor Soul H-ave place; since we are taught, ''
hou Hou or HOU may refer to: Places * Hou (Odder Municipality), a town in Denmark * Hellenic Open University, in Patras, Greece * Hounslow railway station (National Rail station code: HOU), London, England * A common abbreviation for the U.S. city ...
' Lord, remember st th-Y-ne, If Thou art sought. I co-ME not, Lord, wit-H any o-THE-r merit Than WH-at I by my S-A-viour CH-rist inherit: Be th-EN his Wound-S my Balm— his St-RI-pes my Bliss; His TH-orns my crown; my dea-T-h be ble-ST in his. And th-OU, my bles-T Redeemer, SA-viour, God, Quit my ac-CO-unts, with-H-old thy VE-ngeful rod! O beg for ME, my h-O-pes on T-hee are set; And Chri-ST forgi-V-e me, since t-H-ou'st paid my debt The liv-IN-g font, the Li-F-e, the Wa-Y, I know, And but TO thee, O whither S-hall I go? All o-TH-er helps a-R-e vain: grant thin-E to me, For in th-Y cross my S-aving hea-L-th I see. O hear-K-en then, th-A-t I with F-aith implore, Lest S-IN and Death sin-K me to rise + no more. Lastly, O G-od, my cours-E direct A-nd guide, In D-eath defe-N-d me, that I N-ever slide; And at Do-OM-sday let M-e be rais'-D again, To live + with the-E sweet Jes-US say, Amen.


See also

* * * * * * * * * * *


Notes


References

* * * * Tepox, Alfredo. "Translating acrostics as acrostics." ''The Bible Translator'' 55 (2004): 233-243. {{wiktionary Graphic poetry Word games Poetic forms