alexandrine
/ˌalɪɡˈzɑːndrɪn
/ /ˌalɪɡˈzɑːndrʌɪn/Prosody
adjective
(Of a line of verse) having six iambic feet.There are lots of interpolated stories here; there are episodes written in alexandrine verse; and there are enough characters to satisfy even the most hardened devotee of the serial genre....
- His poetic emblem books in particular, written in alexandrine verse and with a moralizing tone, brought him international renown.
- His earlier work tends to be written in traditional rhymed quatrains but, as he matured, he dropped the rhymes and worked in a freer but still basically alexandrine movement.
noun (usually alexandrines)
An alexandrine line.Valery adheres to a rhythm of alexandrines in stanza five, yet the lines do not progress in an even manner....
- Bénabou's list has 260 alexandrines, each one divided into hemistichs and printed in two columns.
- The chief of the romances concerning him are the great French Roman d' Alexandre of the 12th century, of some 20,000 alexandrines, and the English King Alisaunder of the early 14th century, 8,000 octosyllabic verses.
Origin
Late 16th century: from French alexandrin, from Alexandre (see Alexander1), the subject of an Old French poem in this metre.