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).
Read more about Political Verse: History, Form, Example, Technique and Structure, Grammar and Language, Ethos: Mood and Feeling, Use, Analogies in English Poetry, Importance, See Also, References
Famous quotes containing the words political and/or verse:
“Every political system is an accumulation of habits, customs, prejudices, and principles that have survived a long process of trial and error and of ceaseless response to changing circumstances. If the system works well on the whole, it is a lucky accident—the luckiest, indeed, that can befall a society.”
—Edward C. Banfield (b. 1916)
“Thus have I made my own opinions clear;
Yet neither praise expect, nor censure fear:
And this unpolished, rugged verse I chose,
As fittest for discourse and nearest prose;”
—John Dryden (1631–1700)