A
lyric metre named after the
Greek poet
Archilochus.
The metre is made up of two pairs of intermittant Archilochian verse and catalectic iambic trimeter in the following scheme:
-^^/-^^/-:^^/-^^//--/-^/--
^-^-/^:-^-/^-^
-^^/-^^/-:^^/-^^//--/-^/--
^-^-/^:-^-/^-^
(in the Archilochian: Each of the dactyls (-^^) can be replaced by Spondees (--) except for the fourth foot. The first spondee after the diaeresis can be replaced with a trochee (-^).
in the catalectic iambic trimeter: the first iambus (^-) of the first two metra can be replaced with a spondee.
The last syllable of the last feet can be replaced with a short or long one)
Example (in Latin):
- ^ ^/-^ ^/- : -/- ^ ^ //- ^/- ^/ - -
iam Cytherea choros : ducit Venus // imminente Luna,
- - ^ - / - : - ^ -/ ^ - -
iunctaeque Nymphis : Gratiae decentes
- -/ - -/ - : ^ ^/- ^ ^ // - -/- ^/ - -
alterno terram : quatiunt pede, // dum gravis Cyclopum
- - ^ -/ - : - ^ -/ ^ - -
Vulcanus ardens : visit officinas.
(Hor. Od. I, IV 1-4)
* - long or stressed syllable; ^ short or unstressed syllable; // diaeresis; : caesura.