Alexander the Great in a diving bell: a scene from the line's namesake, the Roman d'Alexandre.
Alexandrine is a name used for several distinct types of verse line with related metrical structures, most of which are ultimately derived from the classical French alexandrine. The line's name derives from its use in the Medieval French Roman d'Alexandre of 1170, although it had already been used several decades earlier in Le Pèlerinage de Charlemagne.[1] The foundation of most alexandrines consists of two hemistichs (half-lines) of six syllables each, separated by a caesura (a metrical pause or word break, which may or may not be realized as a stronger syntactic break):
o o o o o o | o o o o o o
o=any syllable; |=caesura
However, no tradition remains this simple. Each applies additional constraints (such as obligatory stress or nonstress on certain syllables) and options (such as a permitted or required additional syllable at the end of one or both hemistichs). Thus a line that is metrical in one tradition may be unmetrical in another.
Where the alexandrine has been adopted, it has frequently served as the heroic verse form of that language or culture, English being a notable exception.
Alexandrine is a name used for several distinct types of verse line with related metrical structures, most of which are ultimately derived from the classical...
The Alexandrine parakeet (Psittacula eupatria), also known as the Alexandrine parrot, is a medium-sized parrot in the genus Psittacula of the family Psittaculidae...
Baronne Miriam Alexandrine de Rothschild (16 March 1884 – 15 March 1965) was an art collector and member of the Rothschild family. Born Alexandrine Miriam Caroline...
Alexandrine of Baden (Alexandrine Luise Amalie Friederike Elisabeth Sophie; 6 December 1820 – 20 December 1904) was Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha from...
The French alexandrine (French: alexandrin) is a syllabic poetic metre of (nominally and typically) 12 syllables with a medial caesura dividing the line...
Margrethe II (Danish: [mɑˈkʁeˀtə]; Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid, born 16 April 1940) is a member of the Danish royal family who reigned as Queen...
Gnosticism (from Ancient Greek: γνωστικός, romanized: gnōstikós, Koine Greek: [ɣnostiˈkos], 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and...
Alexandrine of Prussia may refer to: Princess Alexandrine of Prussia (1803–1892), daughter of Frederick William III of Prussia Princess Alexandrine of...
Polish alexandrine (Polish: trzynastozgłoskowiec) is a common metrical line in Polish poetry. It is similar to the French alexandrine. Each line is composed...
Alexandrine Bonaparte, Princess of Canino and Musignano (née Alexandrine de Bleschamp; 23 February 1778 – 12 July 1855) was a French aristocrat and by...
The Alexandrian rites are a collection of ritual families and uses of Christian liturgy employed by three Oriental Orthodox churches (the Coptic Orthodox...
The Alexandrinsky Theatre (Russian: Александринский театр) or National Drama Theatre of Russia is a theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The Alexandrinsky...
Anne Vernon (born Édith Antoinette Alexandrine Vignaud; 9 January 1924) is a French retired film and television actress who appeared in 40 films between...
The Alexandrine grammarians were philologists and textual scholars who flourished in Hellenistic Alexandria in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE, when that...
Uranus, the seventh planet of the Solar System, has 28 confirmed moons. Most of them are named after characters that appear in, or are mentioned in, the...
The Great Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt, was one of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world. The library was part...
SMS Alexandrine was a member of the Carola class of steam corvettes built for the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) in the 1880s. Intended for...
The Alexandrian war, also called the Alexandrine war, was a phase of Caesar's civil war in which Julius Caesar involved himself in an Egyptian dynastic...
Baroness Marie Alexandrine "Mary" von Vetsera (19 March 1871 – 30 January 1889) was an Austrian noblewoman and the mistress of Rudolf, Crown Prince of...
Global Information