epode
Americannoun
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Classical Prosody. a kind of lyric poem, invented by Archilochus, in which a long verse is followed by a short one.
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the part of a lyric ode following the strophe and antistrophe and composing with them a triadic unit.
noun
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the part of a lyric ode that follows the strophe and the antistrophe
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a type of lyric poem composed of couplets in which a long line is followed by a shorter one, invented by Archilochus
Etymology
Origin of epode
1590–1600; < Latin epōdos < Greek epōidós an aftersong, singing after. See ep-, ode
Explanation
In poetry, an epode is the third and final section of an ode, after the strophe and antistrophe. Part of an epode's purpose is to summarize the poem's themes. An ancient Greek epode was originally a stand-alone form of lyric poetry in which short verses are followed by longer ones. Eventually, epodes were added to the end of the longer praise poems known as odes; while the strophe and antistrophe share the same meter, the epode's is usually different. Its use as a final stanza summing up the poem's major ideas is reflected in the word's Greek meaning, "after-song."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Greek odes were accompanied by music and dancing, the singers moving to one side during the strophe, retracing their steps during the antistrophe, ... and standing still during the epode.
From English Verse Specimens Illustrating its Principles and History by Raymond MacDonald Alden
Of the three parts of the ode, the strophe, the antistrophe, and the epode, each was to be sung at a particular part of the procession.
From The Symbolism of Freemasonry by Albert G. Mackey
These have first a strophe of undetermined length, then an antistrophe identical in structure with the strophe, and then an epode, different in structure from the strophe and antistrophe.
From The Principles of English Versification by Paull Franklin Baum
To Sicily we trace the germs of Greek comedy, and the addition of the epode to the strophe and anti-strophe.
From Essays in the Study of Folk-Songs (1886) by Countess Evelyn Martinengo-Cesaresco
The epode soon took a firm place in choral poetry, which it lost when that branch of literature declined.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 6 "English Language" to "Epsom Salts" by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
