WHAT ARE ACROSTIC & ABCEDARIUS FORMS?

ACROSTIC AND ABCEDARIUS


1. DEFINITION

According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, an acrostic is “a composition usually in verse in which sets of letters (as the initial or final letters of the lines) taken in order form a word or phrase or a regular sequence of letters of the alphabet”.

Sometimes, the position of the letter/word specific to the acrostic may be not in the beginning or end of the line, but somewhere in between.


2. TYPES:

a. An acrostic where the specific letter/word occurs in the beginning—This is the commonest type.

Example--

ON YOUR PATH: an acrostic—award winner—"THE MORTAL DREAM: acrostic—award winner" 

b. A double acrostic, where the starting and end letters of each line are the same and, arranged vertically, form the same word.

Example—

NATURE: a double acrostic— "NATURE: a double acrostic" 

c. An ABCedarius poem, also called the ABC poem or alphabet poem-- This form uses A as the first letter of the poem. Each subsequent line begins with the next letter of the alphabet.

Examples—

HAVE FAITH IN HIM: award winner—an abcedarius. "HAVE FAITH IN HIM: winner-an abcedarius" ,1 October 2005
[An alphabetical poem in rhyme.]

A TO Z OF CHILDREN: an abcedarius poem – "A TO Z OF CHILDREN: an abcedarius poem "  , 7 April 2006
[Kids smiling and shouting, unmindful of their warts, farts and zips.]

IN PRAISE OF KNOWLEDGE: an abcedarius poem—"IN PRAISE OF KNOWLEDGE: abcedarius poem"  ,
3 May 2006
[Knowledge is power. Gain it, but don’t be proud of it.]

ZEROING IN ON THE TRUTH: an ABCeDarius poem, award winner—"ZEROING IN ON THE TRUTH:ABCeDarius, wins" . 10 December 2006


NOTE—A variant of an abcedarius is a poem, usually written for a contest, containing 26 lines or more, where 26 given words, each starting with a different letter of the alphabet, have to be used at the writer’s choice, irrespective of the sequence of placement in a line. However, this structure does not fit the definition of an acrostic given above.

Example—

WHEN LOVELY WOMAN: 26 word poem-- winner—"WHEN LOVELY WOMAN: 26 word poem-- winner"  ,
20 March 2008
[Things have changed compared to Oliver Goldsmith’s times]


3. SUMMARY—

An acrostic is a poem where certain predetermined letters, either those forming a word or phrase, or the entire alphabet, are used in that particular sequence in various lines of the poem. There is no other requirement of rhyme or meter. [However, if rhyme or meter or both can be incorporated, depending upon the ingenuity of the writer, it will be so much a better poem].

In common usage, the word acrostic is used when a poem is made around letters in a word or phrase, while the word abcedarius is used for the alphabetical poem, also referred to as an ABC poem.



M C Gupta
14 April 2008