Political Verse

Political verse (Greek: Politikós stíkhos, Πολιτικός στίχος), also known as Decapentasyllabic verse (from Greek dekapentasyllabos, δεκαπεντασύλλαβος, lit. '15-syllable'), is a common metric form in Medieval and Modern Greek poetry. It is an iambic verse of fifteen syllables and has been the main meter of traditional popular and folk poetry since the Byzantine period. The name is unrelated to the concept of "politics" and does not imply political content of a poem; rather, it derives from the original meaning of the Greek word πολιτικός, 'civil' or 'civic', meaning that it was originally a form used for secular, non-religious, even profane poetry. It is also called “ἡμαξευμένοι στίχοι” ("like-a-chariot-on-a-paved-road" verses, because the words “flow” freely like a running chariot).