Acrostic
A piece of verse which is made up so that the first letters of the lines, when they are read down the page, make a word is called an acrostic.
Poets sometimes used this kind of acrostic poem when writing verses to their lady loves, spelling out their names in the initial letters. A poet of Queen Elizabeth I's time, named John Davies, wrote 26 Hymns to Astraea (the Queen herself) and in every one of the poems the first letters of the lines formed the words "Elisabeth Regina" the Latin for Queen Elizabeth.
Another type of acrostic is not a poem but a kind of puzzle. The solution of an acrostic puzzle is a list of words whose initials letters make another word. In the same way as in a crossword puzzle, clues are given to enable the person who is trying to solve the acrostic to guess the crosswise or horizontal words and so find the hidden word formed by the initials.
Many acrostic puzzles are "double acrostics", in which the last letters of horizontals, as well as the first ones, form a word.
Poets sometimes used this kind of acrostic poem when writing verses to their lady loves, spelling out their names in the initial letters. A poet of Queen Elizabeth I's time, named John Davies, wrote 26 Hymns to Astraea (the Queen herself) and in every one of the poems the first letters of the lines formed the words "Elisabeth Regina" the Latin for Queen Elizabeth.
Another type of acrostic is not a poem but a kind of puzzle. The solution of an acrostic puzzle is a list of words whose initials letters make another word. In the same way as in a crossword puzzle, clues are given to enable the person who is trying to solve the acrostic to guess the crosswise or horizontal words and so find the hidden word formed by the initials.
Many acrostic puzzles are "double acrostics", in which the last letters of horizontals, as well as the first ones, form a word.
Acrostics @ Amazon
History
The word acrostic was first applied to the prophecies of the Erythraean Sibyl, which were written on leaves and arranged so that the initial letters of the leaves always formed a word. This technique was later used to ingenious effect by Vladimir Nabokov in his story The Vane Sisters.
Acrostics @ Amazon
Biblical
Acrostics may simply spell out the letters of the alphabet in order; these acrostics occur in the Lamentations of Jeremiah, and in certain of the Psalms of the Hebrew Bible.
Two notable acrostic Psalms are the long Psalm 119, which typically is printed in subsections named after the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, each of which is featured in that section; and Psalm 145 (commonly referred to as "Ashrei"), which is recited three times a day in the Jewish services.
Or the acrostic may spell out a name or some other message, such as the acrostic contained in the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, where the letters of the acrostic are embellished with ornate capital letters. Or, the acrostic may be used as a form of steganography, seeking to conceal the message rather than to proclaim it.
Two notable acrostic Psalms are the long Psalm 119, which typically is printed in subsections named after the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, each of which is featured in that section; and Psalm 145 (commonly referred to as "Ashrei"), which is recited three times a day in the Jewish services.
Or the acrostic may spell out a name or some other message, such as the acrostic contained in the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, where the letters of the acrostic are embellished with ornate capital letters. Or, the acrostic may be used as a form of steganography, seeking to conceal the message rather than to proclaim it.
Acrostics @ Amazon
by freddo
freddo
I have an interest in online marketing and promotion, using the computer and the internet as a tool, and books and articles on self-improvement.
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