Glyconic (from Glycon, a Greek lyric poet) is a form of

meter The metre ( British spelling) or meter ( American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its pr ...

in classical Greek and Latin poetry. The glyconic line is the most basic form of

Aeolic verse Aeolic verse is a classification of Ancient Greek lyric poetry referring to the distinct verse forms characteristic of the two great poets of Archaic Lesbos, Sappho and Alcaeus, who composed in their native Aeolic dialect. These verse forms wer ...

, and it is often combined with others. The basic shape (often abbreviated as gl) is as follows: x x – u u – u – Here "x" indicates an anceps, "–" a longum, and "u" a brevis. "x x" is known as the Aeolic base, which can be a spondeus "– –", a trochee "– u", or an iamb "u –". The middle foot "– u u –" is a '' choriambus'', as a so-called choriambic nucleus is a defining element of Aeolic verse. As in all classical verse forms, the phenomenon of

brevis in longo In Greek and Latin metre, ''brevis in longo'' (; ) is a short syllable at the end of a line that is counted as long. The term is short for , meaning "a short yllablein place of a long lement" Although the phenomenon itself has been known since a ...

is observed, so although the last syllable can actually be short or long, it always "counts" as long. The acephalous ("headless") version (^gl), also known as the ''telesillean'' (Latin: ''telesilleus''), is: x – u u – u – Runs of glyconic lines are often ended by a pherecratean (a glyconic without the last brevis: x x – u u – –), as in the glyconic and pherecratean stanzas found in

Anacreon Anacreon (; grc-gre, Ἀνακρέων ὁ Τήϊος; BC) was a Greek lyric poet, notable for his drinking songs and erotic poems. Later Greeks included him in the canonical list of Nine Lyric Poets. Anacreon wrote all of his poetry in the ...

and

Catullus Gaius Valerius Catullus (; 84 - 54 BCE), often referred to simply as Catullus (, ), was a Latin poetry, Latin poet of the late Roman Republic who wrote chiefly in the neoteric style of poetry, focusing on personal life rather than classical h ...

(i.e. Catullus 34 and 61). The combination of glyconic and pherecratean is given the name ''priapean'' (Latin: ''priapeus''): : x x – u u – u – , x x – u u – –

References

*Daniel H. Garrison (editor). ''The Student's Catullus''. University of Oklahoma Press: Norman, 2004.

References

Further reading