Hudibrastic

Hudibrastic

Hudibrastic is a type of English verse named for Samuel Butler's "Hudibras" of 1672. For the poem, Butler invented a mock-heroic verse structure. Instead of pentameter, the lines were written in iambic tetrameter. The rhyme scheme is the same as in heroic verse (aa, bb, cc, dd, etc.), but Butler used feminine rhyme for humor."Baldick, Christopher (1996). " [http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t56.e465 Hudibrastic verse] " in "The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms". Oxford Reference Online (subscription required), Oxford University Press. Retrieved on February 27, 2007.]

The first fourteen lines of "Hudibras" illustrate the verse form::When civil dudgeon first grew high,:And men fell out they knew not why?:When hard words, jealousies, and fears,:Set folks together by the ears,:And made them fight, like mad or drunk, :For Dame Religion, as for punk;:Whose honesty they all durst swear for,:Though not a man of them knew wherefore::When Gospel-Trumpeter, surrounded:With long-ear'd rout, to battle sounded, :And pulpit, drum ecclesiastick,:Was beat with fist, instead of a stick;:Then did Sir Knight abandon dwelling,:And out he rode a colonelling.

The rhyme of "swear for" with "wherefore" and "ecclesiastic" with "(in)stead of a stick" are surprising, unnatural, and humorous. Additionally, the rhyme of "-don dwelling" with "a colonelling" is strained to the point of breaking, again for humorous effect. Further, the rhyme scheme in a Hudibrastic will imply inappropriate comparisons. For example, the rhyme of "drunk" and "punk" (meaning "a prostitute") implies that the religious ecstacies of the Puritans were the same as that of sexual intercourse and inebriation.

The hudibrastic has been traditionally used for satire. Jonathan Swift, for example, wrote nearly all of his poetry in hudibrastics.

Notes


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Hudibrastic — Hu di*bras tic, a. Similar to, or in the style of, the poem Hudibras, by Samuel Butler; in the style of doggerel verse. Macaulay. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Hudibrastic — [hyo͞o΄di bras′tik] adj. like, or in the style of, Samuel Butler s Hudibras, a mock heroic satirical poem (1663 78) in iambic tetrameter and rhyming couplets, ridiculing the Puritans …   English World dictionary

  • Hudibrastic — adjective Etymology: irregular from Hudibras, satirical poem by Samuel Butler died 1680 Date: 1712 1. written in humorous octosyllabic couplets 2. mock heroic • Hudibrastic noun …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Hudibrastic — Hudibrastically, adv. /hyooh deuh bras tik/, or, often, /yooh /, adj. 1. of, pertaining to, or resembling the style of Samuel Butler s Hudibras (published 1663 78), a mock heroic poem written in tetrameter couplets. 2. of a playful burlesque… …   Universalium

  • Hudibrastic — adjective of, or relating to a style of English verse that mocks heroic verse …   Wiktionary

  • hudibrastic —  in a mock heroic manner, from the epic satirical poem Hudibras (1663–1678) by Samuel Butler …   Bryson’s dictionary for writers and editors

  • hudibrastic — hu·di·bras·tic …   English syllables

  • Hudibrastic — Hu•di•bras•tic [[t]ˌhyu dəˈbræs tɪk[/t]] or, often, [[t]ˌyu [/t]] adj. lit. of, like, or in the mock heroic style of Samuel Butler s poem Hudibras (published 1663 78), written in a doggerel of octosyllabic couplets • Etymology: 1705–15; Hudibras+ …   From formal English to slang

  • Hudibrastic — /hjudəˈbræstɪk/ (say hyoohduh brastik) adjective 1. of or relating to, or resembling the style of, Samuel Butler s Hudibras (published 1663–78), a mock heroic satirical poem written in tetrameter couplets. 2. of a playful burlesque style …  

  • hudibrastic — …   Useful english dictionary

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