A
lyric metre named after the
Greek poet
Asclepiades. It was not as common as the free use of the two
Asclepiad one line metres, but was still used extensively by
Horace and other
Roman and
Hellenistic poets.
The metre is made up of three short Asclepiad verses followed by a Glyconic verse in the following scheme:
---^^-//-^^-^-
---^^-//-^^-^-
---^^-//-^^-^-
---^^-^-
(Each of the last syllables can be replaced by short ones)
Example (in Latin):
- - - ^ ^ - // - ^^ - - ^
audis quo strepitu // ianua, quo nemus
- - - ^ ^ - // - ^ ^ - -^
inter pulchra satum // tecta remugiat
- - - ^ ^ - //- ^ ^- - -
ventis, et positas // ut glaciet nives
- - - ^ ^ - ^ -
puro numine Iuppiter?
(Hor. Od. III, X, 5-8)
* - long or stressed syllable; ^ short or unstressed syllable; // diaeresis.