Epode

The word epode is used in two ways: it may be applied either to a particular part of a (certain kind of) poem or to a (certain kind of) poem in its entirety.

• An epode may be the third stanza in the set of three stanzas which make up a section of a (Pindaric) ode. (The names of the first and second stanzas in a set are, respectively, strophe and antistrophe.) For more see ode.

• An epode may be a particular type of lyric poem. The distinctive features of an epode are that it is written in couplets, and that the first line of each couplet is longer than the second line - the first line is usually six iambic feet, while the second is four. The epode as a poetic form is said to have been invented by the Greek poet Archilochus (7th century BCE) and was developed by Stesichorus.(c 630-555 BCE). It was also sometimes used by Latin poets: indeed Horace (Quintus Horatius Flaccus, 65-8 BCE) published a book of Epodes (although only the first 10 poems of the 17 in the book have the form of epodes).

Etymological note: The English word epode is virtually a transliteration of the Greek ἐπῳδός (epōdos), which is a compound of the preposition ἐπί (epi, ‘on’, ‘over’, ‘against’) and the noun ἀοιδή (aoidē) or ᾠδή (ōdē), ‘song’. An ἐπῳδός (epōdos) is a song sung as a charm, but the Greek word is also used, in the context of prosody, with the same two meanings as its English descendant.