An asclepiad is a line of poetry following a particular metrical pattern. The form is attributed to Asclepiades of Samos and is one of the Aeolic metres.

As with other Aeolic metrical lines, the asclepiad is built around a choriamb, to which two (lesser asclepiad) or three (greater asclepiad) other choriambs are added. Around this core of choriambs, iambic, spondaic, trochaic feet may be added to introduce and conclude the line. A common example of a lesser asclepiad is a spondee followed by two choriambs and an iamb ( | '' | '~~' | '~~' | '~~' | '~ | ).

Asclepiads were used by Horace, Catullus, and Seneca in Latin. Examples in English verse include parts of Sir Philip Sidney's Arcadia and W. H. Auden's "In Due Season".

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/ "
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License