In poetry, a hendecasyllable (or hendecasyllabic) is a line that has eleven syllables. This term can describe different types of poetic meters. Some older meters are based on the length of sounds and were mainly used in ancient Greek and Latin poetry. Other, newer meters are based on the number of syllables or the placement of stress, and were used in poetry from the Middle Ages and modern times.

Classical

In classical poetry, the term "hendecasyllable" or "hendecasyllabic" refers to three different 11-syllable Aeolic meters. These meters were first used in Ancient Greece and later used by Roman poets with few changes.

Aeolic meters are built on an Aeolic base (× ×) followed by a choriamb (– u u –). Here, – represents a long syllable, u represents a short syllable, and × represents an anceps, which is a syllable that can be either long or short. The three Aeolic hendecasyllables are:

( Latin: hendecasyllabus phalaecius ):
This meter is named after Phalaecus, a minor Hellenistic poet who used it in short poems. Although Phalaecus did not invent it, earlier poets like Sappho and Anacreon had used it. The Phalaecian hendecasyllable was often used by the Roman poet Catullus and the poet Martial. An example from Catullus is the first poem in his collection. The translation below shows the rhythm using English stress instead of Latin syllable length:

"To whom dedicate this, my charming new book, Freshly burnished with pumice stone? To Cornelius! you who always used to Think my trifles were worth something."

The Aeolic base (the first two syllables of the line) with – – is most common in Catullus. Later poets like Statius and Martial used only this version. Occasionally, Catullus used u – or – u in some lines. There is usually a pause in the line after the 5th or 6th syllable.

In the first part of his collection, Catullus used the Phalaecian hendecasyllable in 41 poems. In two poems (55 and 58b), he used a variation where the 4th and 5th syllables could sometimes be combined into a single long syllable. Poem 55 includes twelve lines with 10 syllables and ten lines with 11 syllables:

"We beg, if perhaps it is not a nuisance, that you should show us where your lair is…"

Some scholars believe poem 58b is a fragment from poem 55, while others think it is a separate poem.

( Latin: hendecasyllabus alcaicus ):
Here, the Aeolic base is shortened to a single anceps. This meter often appears as the first two lines of an Alcaic stanza.

( Latin: hendecasyllabus sapphicus ):
Again, the Aeolic base is shortened. This meter often appears as the first three lines of a Sapphic stanza. It was also used in stichic verse by poets like Seneca and Boethius. Sappho wrote many stanzas later named after her. An example (with a formal English equivalent) is:

"He, it seems to me, is completely godlike: Ah, that man who's sitting across from you, there, Leaning in and listening to your sweet voice, Charmed by your laughter."

Italian

The hendecasyllable (Italian: endecasillabo) is the main meter used in Italian poetry. It is defined by a strong stress on the tenth syllable, allowing the total number of syllables in a line to vary. Usually, a line has eleven syllables when the final word is stressed on its second-to-last syllable. The line also has a stress before the caesura, which occurs on either the fourth or sixth syllable. When the caesura is on the fourth syllable, the line is called endecasillabo a minore, or lesser hendecasyllable, and its first part is similar to a five-syllable line. When the caesura is on the sixth syllable, the line is called endecasillabo a maiore, or greater hendecasyllable, and its first part is similar to a seven-syllable line.

Hendecasyllabic lines often end with feminine rhymes, which contribute to the total of eleven syllables. However, lines with ten or twelve syllables also appear. Lines with ten or twelve syllables are more common in rhymed poetry, while unrhymed lines, called versi sciolti, usually follow a stricter eleven-syllable format. Lines longer than twelve syllables can be created using specific verb forms and attached pronouns.

Additional stresses beyond the required two can create rhythmic variation and help express themes. A line with consistent stress on even-numbered syllables is called iambic (giambico) and may be a greater or lesser hendecasyllable. This is the simplest and most common type but can become repetitive in long works. A lesser hendecasyllable often has a stress on the seventh syllable, making it dactylic (dattilico), which is suitable for dialogue. A greater hendecasyllable with a stress on the third syllable is called anapestic (anapestico), creating a sense of speed and fluidity.

It is improper for a lesser hendecasyllable to use a word stressed on its third-to-last syllable (parola sdrucciola) for the mid-line stress. A line like "Più non sfavìllano quegli òcchi néri," which delays the caesura until after the sixth syllable, is not considered a valid hendecasyllable.

Most classical Italian poems use hendecasyllables, including works by Dante, Francesco Petrarca, Ludovico Ariosto, and Torquato Tasso. These poems use rhyme systems like terza rima, ottava, sonnet, and canzone, sometimes mixing hendecasyllables with shorter lines. From the early 16th century, hendecasyllables were often used without strict rhyme systems, a style called verso sciolto. An example is "Le Api" by Giovanni di Bernardo Rucellai, written around 1517 and published in 1525.

An early example of blank hendecasyllables is the tragedy "Sophonisba" by Gian Giorgio Trissino (1515). Later examples include the "Canti" by Giacomo Leopardi, where hendecasyllables alternate with seven-syllable lines.

Polish

The 11-syllable line, called the hendecasyllabic metre (Polish: jedenastozgłoskowiec), was widely used in Polish poetry, especially during the 17th and 18th centuries, because of strong Italian influence. This form was used by poets such as Jan Kochanowski, Piotr Kochanowski (who translated the Italian poem Jerusalem Delivered), Sebastian Grabowiecki, Wespazjan Kochowski, and Stanisław Herakliusz Lubomirski. The famous Polish Romantic poet Adam Mickiewicz also used this metre in his poem Grażyna. The 11-syllable line is often used in translations of English blank verse.

The 11-syllable line is typically divided into two parts: 5 syllables and 6 syllables, with a pause in the middle. The fourth and tenth syllables have strong beats, and both halves of the line end with long sounds. While the line can sometimes follow a pattern of alternating short and long syllables (iambic rhythm), this is not common. Instead, the stress in words can appear on any of the first syllables in each half-line.

A common form of Polish poetry that uses the 11-syllable line is the Sapphic stanza, which has four lines with syllable counts of 11, 11, 11, and 5. The 11-syllable line is also often paired with an 8-syllable line in a pattern of 11a/8b/11a/8b. This structure was used by Mickiewicz in his ballads. An example is:

Ktokolwiek będziesz w Nowogródzkiej stronie,
Do Płużyn ciemnego boru
Wjechawszy, pomnij zatrzymać twe konie,
Byś się przypatrzył jezioru.

This translates to:
Visitor passing Novogrudok's courses,
In Płużyn forest's umbration,
Once come, remember to rein in your horses:
View the lake in admiration.

Portuguese

The hendecasyllable (Portuguese: hendecassílabo) is a common type of verse in Portuguese poetry. One of the most famous poems written in this meter is The Lusiads by Luís de Camões. The poem begins with these lines:

"As armas, & os barões assinalados, Que da Occidental praya Lusitana, Por mares, nunca de antes navegados, Passaram, ainda alem da Taprobana, Em perigos, & guerras esforçados, Mais do que prometia a força humana. Entre gente remota edificaram Novo Reino, que tanto sublimaram."

In English, this translates to:

"Armes, and the Men above the vulgar File, Who from the Western Lusitanian shore Past ev'n beyond the Trapobanian-Isle, Through Seas which never Ship has sayld before; Who (brave in action, patient in long Toyle, Beyond what strength of humane nature bore) 'Mongst Nations, under other Stars, acquir'd A modern Scepter which to Heaven aspir'd."

In Portuguese, the hendecasyllable is sometimes called "decasyllable" (decassílabo), even when the verse has 11 syllables. This happens because Portuguese poetry rules consider the last stressed syllable as the end of the verse. So, even though the verse appears to have 11 syllables, it is counted as having 10 syllables in Portuguese scansion.

Spanish

The hendecasyllable (Spanish: endecasílabo) is not as common in Spanish poetry as it is in Italian or Portuguese. However, it is often used in forms similar to Italian poetry, such as sonnets and ottava rima. For example, Alonso de Ercilla's epic poem La Araucana uses these forms.

Spanish playwrights frequently use hendecasyllables along with shorter lines, such as heptasyllables. This can be seen in Rosaura's opening speech from Calderón's play La vida es sueño:

*Wild hippogriff, swift and fast,
You who run faster than the wind,
A bolt without light,
A fish without scales, a bird without feathers,
And a creature without instinct—
Why do you rush into this wild, rocky maze,
Running freely, without control, and fall down the steep path?*

English

The word "hendecasyllable" usually describes a type of poetic line that copies the rhythm of Greek or Latin poetry. Poets like Alfred Tennyson, Swinburne, and Robert Frost ("For Once, Then, Something") have used this style. More recently, American poets Annie Finch ("Lucid Waking") and Patricia Smith ("The Reemergence of the Noose") have also written poems with hendecasyllables. In English, where the length of sounds is not clearly marked, poets often use stressed syllables to represent long sounds and unstressed syllables to represent short sounds. However, Tennyson tried to keep the original timing of the meter in his Alcaic stanzas, which include Alcaic hendecasyllables. For example, the first two lines of his poem "Milton" are:

"O mighty-mouth'd inventor of harmonies, O skill'd to sing of Time or Eternity, God-gifted organ-voice of England, Milton, a name to resound for ages;"

— Tennyson: "Milton," lines 1-4

Sometimes, the term "hendecasyllable" is used to describe a line of iambic pentameter with a feminine ending, such as the first line of John Keats's "Endymion": "A thing of beauty is a joy for ever."