Heroic (Noun)
Meaning
A verse form suited to the treatment of heroic or elevated themes; dactylic hexameter or iambic pentameter.
Classification
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents.
Examples
- The heroic couplet was the verse form favored by 18th-century English poets, who used it to express lofty ideas and moral sentiments.
- John Dryden's poems often featured the heroic quatrain, which added an extra two-line stanza to the traditional heroic couplet.
- Alexander Pope was a master of the heroic couplet, using it to explore complex themes and philosophical ideas in his verse.
- In epic poetry, the heroic decasyllable is a meter often used to recount tales of brave deeds and noble actions.
- Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene features heroic blank verse, with iambic pentameter stanzas that flow smoothly into one another.