Tragic Meter

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vir litterarum
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Tragic Meter

Post by vir litterarum »

I have searched for information pertaining to metrics used by the Attic tragedians esp. Aeschylus, but I have not been able to locate anything substantial. Does anyone know of a website providing a good synopsis of these meters and which poets used them?

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IreneY
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Post by IreneY »

vir literarum are you talking about the whole up to and including the chorus (interludes as I call them, I can't remember the right term right now) ?

This one is too summarised but it's good for a start.
This is a good synopsis of the meters used in the episodes, while this one has more details about the iambic trimeter which is the basic meter of the episodes.

For the chorus it's better to study the meters of lyric poetry really although it is a bit more complicated than that .

Do you want something more detailed that that?

annis
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Re: Tragic Meter

Post by annis »

vir litterarum wrote: Does anyone know of a website providing a good synopsis of these meters and which poets used them?
The tragedians used the same metrical materials for the most part. They differ in their treatment of particular forms (more resolution in Euripides, etc.)

My own introduction to Greek meter will apply to tragic verse as well as lyric poets. Pay particular attention to the iambic trimeter (the usual speaking line), and to the choral meters, both aeolic and dactylo-epitrite. The Enchiridion of Greek metrics has a lot of good information, with more examples and even exercises. In addition to trimeters and tragic choral, you'll want to pay attention to the anapestic dimeter. This web site tends to disappear and migrate periodically, so save pages you want to look at in the future.

I cannot find any good online reference on dochmiacs, a somewhat erratic meter used when the speaker is excited or aggitated.
William S. Annis — http://www.aoidoi.org/http://www.scholiastae.org/
τίς πατέρ' αἰνήσει εἰ μὴ κακοδαίμονες υἱοί;

vir litterarum
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Post by vir litterarum »

Thanks. Those links were just what I was looking for.

donhamiltontx
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Re: Tragic Meter

Post by donhamiltontx »

The only reason I make this necro-post is in case an Internet search brought you here, as one just did me, be aware that this 12-year-old post has been supplemented by a later (and thoroughly enlightening) sticky post "Meter in Tragedy (Split from topic "Let's Read: AJAX")" http://www.textkit.com/greek-latin-foru ... =2&t=65117.

Note as well that in the above posts, the first and last of IreneY's three links are dead, and the second of annis' two posts is dead. After twelve years, I am surprised any of the links is live.

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