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
Alcaic stanza Italian poetry of 19th century, especially by Giosuè Carducci. As in English, the meter is accentual rather than quantatative. <poem style="margin-left:2em; font-style:italic"> Poi che un sereno vapor d’ambrosia da la tua còppa diffuso avvolsemi, </poem> It was an historically important form in Hungarian poetry. In Polish poetry (in contrast to the Sapphic stanza which was extremely popular since 16th century) Alcaics were used very rarely. Even in translation Horace's Alcaic stanzas were usually turned into different forms. An example (perhaps the only) of an Alcaic stanza in Polish original literature is Stanisław Trembecki's "Ode to Adam Naruszewicz": <poem style="margin-left:2em; font-style:italic">