Alcaic stanza four lines; the first two lines are divided into two parts by a caesura after the fifth syllable. The metrical pattern of an Alcaic stanza would look like this: Horace frequently used the Alcaic stanza in his Odes, as can be seen from this example : An English translation, which suggests the metre, is : A famous example of English Alcaics is Tennyson's "Milton": <poem style="margin-left:2em"> O mighty-mouth'd inventor of harmonies, O skill'd to sing of Time or Eternity, </poem> The Alcaic stanza was adapted to use in English and French during the Renaissance. It was very frequently used in
Epic poetry rhyme royal, though in the 16th century the Spenserian stanza and blank verse were also introduced. The French alexandrine is currently the heroic line in French literature, though in earlier periods the decasyllable took precedence. In Polish literature, couplets of Polish alexandrines (syllabic lines of 7+6 syllables) prevail. In Russian, iambic tetrameter verse is the most popular. In Serbian poetry, the decasyllable is the only form employed. Epic poetry An epic poem, epic, epos, or epopee is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily involving a time beyond living memory in which occurred the extraordinary doings of the extraordinary men and women