Alexandrine

Alexandrine, in verse, a line of 12 syllables (or 13 if the last syllable is unstressed), consisting of 6 iambic feet, also known as tétramètre. Some scholars think the name is derived from a 12th-century collection of romances concerning Alexander the Great though the earliest examples of the form are found in an early chansons de gestes entitled Le Pélérinage de Charlemagne à Jérusalem. The alexandrine became popular in the 16th century, through the work of Pierre de Ronsard, and soon became accepted as the standard line for epic narrative, tragedy, and high comedy. It remained characteristic of French heroic verse until the middle of the 19th century. The alexandrine also occurs in English poetry, probably the most famous example being the line in Essay on Criticism by Alexander Pope: