hemistich

[ hem-i-stik ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

, Prosody.

the exact or approximate half of a stich, or poetic verse or line, especially as divided by a caesura or the like.
an incomplete line, or a line of less than the usual length.

hemistich

/ ˈhɛmɪˌstɪk /

he·mis·ti·chal [h, uh, -, mis, -ti-k, uh, l, hem, -i-stik-, uh, l], adjective

1565–75; < Late Latin hēmistichium < Greek hēmistíchion a half-verse. See hemi-, stich ¹

The initial unstressed syllable of the first hemistich is lacking in approximately one-third of the lines of the Laberinto.

The structure of the hemistich in the normal alliterative line.

The strength of a line in our language consists principally in saying something in each hemistich.

Here the three types only which we have mentioned occur in the second hemistich.

This line is apparently imperfect, metrically, for the second hemistich seems to be wanting.

April 18, 2024petrichor

[pet-ri-kawr]

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