Long Metre or Long Measure, abbreviated as L.M. or LM, is a
poetic metre
In poetry, metre ( Commonwealth spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) is the basic rhythmic structure of a verse or lines in verse. Many traditional verse forms prescribe a specific verse metre, or a certain set o ...
consisting of four line
stanzas
In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian ''stanza'' , "room") is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme and metrical schemes, but they are not required to have eithe ...
, or
quatrains
A quatrain is a type of stanza, or a complete poem, consisting of four lines.
Existing in a variety of forms, the quatrain appears in poems from the poetic traditions of various ancient civilizations including Persia, Ancient India, Ancient Greec ...
, in
iambic tetrameter with alternate rhyme pattern ''a-b-a-b''.
The term is also used in the closely related area of
hymn metres. When the poem is used as a sung hymn, the metre of the text is denoted by the syllable count of each line; for long metre, the count is denoted by 8.8.8.8, 88.88, or 88 88, depending on style.
History
Poets and composers have used long metre for more than a millennium:
Venantius Fortunatus
Venantius Honorius Clementianus Fortunatus ( 530 600/609 AD; french: Venance Fortunat), known as Saint Venantius Fortunatus (, ), was a Latin poet and hymnographer in the Merovingian Court, and a bishop of the Early Church who has been venerate ...
(c.530-c.600/609) wrote "
Vexilla regis
''Vexilla regis prodeunt'' (; often known in English translation as The Royal Banner Forward Goes) is a Latin hymn in long metre by the Christian poet and saint Venantius Fortunatus, Bishop of Poitiers. It takes its title from its incipit.
In ...
", and probably also wrote "
Quem terra, pontus, aethera", both of which are in long metre.
Metrical psalter
A metrical psalter is a kind of Bible translation: a book containing a verse translation of all or part of the Book of Psalms in vernacular poetry, meant to be sung as hymns in a church. Some metrical psalters include melodies or harmonisatio ...
s include many such tunes, some of which are still sung today, such as "All people that on Earth do dwell", a paraphrase of
Psalm 100
Psalm 100 is the 100th psalm in the Book of Psalms in the Hebrew Bible. In English, it is translated as "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands" in the King James Version (KJV), and as "O be joyful in the Lord, all ye lands" in the Book ...
sung to
a tune that first appeared in the
Genevan Psalter
The ''Genevan Psalter'', also known as the ''Huguenot Psalter'', is a metrical psalter in French created under the supervision of John Calvin for liturgical use by the Reformed churches of the city of Geneva in the sixteenth century.
Background
...
s of 16th century. Many
church hymns are also based on long metre tunes,
such as the
Good Friday
Good Friday is a Christian holiday commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Calvary. It is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum. It is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday (also Hol ...
hymn "
When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
The hymn, "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross", was written by Isaac Watts, and published in ''Hymns and Spiritual Songs'' in 1707. It is significant for being an innovative departure from the early English hymn style of only using paraphrased bib ...
".
Related metres
Related to long metre are other metres: long metre double, 88 88 88 88, as in the traditional Irish tune "St. Patrick", which has been used with the hymn "I bind unto myself today", "
St. Patrick's Breastplate", translated by
Cecil Frances Alexander
Cecil Frances Alexander (April 1818 – 12 October 1895) was an Anglo-Irish hymnwriter and poet. Amongst other works, she wrote "All Things Bright and Beautiful", "There is a green hill far away" and the Christmas carol "Once in Royal David's Cit ...
; and long particular metre, 88 88 88, as in the tune "Melita", composed by
John Bacchus Dykes
John Bacchus Dykes (10 March 1823 – 22 January 1876) was an English clergyman and hymnwriter.
Biography
John Bacchus Dykes was born in Hull, England, the fifth child and third son of William Hey Dykes, a ship builder, later banker, an ...
, which has been used with the hymn "
Eternal Father, strong to save
"Eternal Father, Strong to Save" is a British hymn traditionally associated with seafarers, particularly in the maritime armed services. Written in 1860, its author, William Whiting, was inspired by the dangers of the sea described in Psalm ...
", the Navy Hymn, by
William Whiting.
See also
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Foot (prosody)
The foot is the basic repeating rhythmic unit that forms part of a line of verse in most Indo-European traditions of poetry, including English accentual-syllabic verse and the quantitative meter of classical ancient Greek and Latin poetry. The ...
*
Hymn tune
A hymn tune is the melody of a musical composition to which a hymn text is sung. Musically speaking, a hymn is generally understood to have four-part (or more) harmony, a fast harmonic rhythm (chords change frequently), with or without refrain ...
*
Metre (hymn)
A hymn metre (''US:'' meter) indicates the number of syllables for the lines in each stanza of a hymn. This provides a means of marrying the hymn's text with an appropriate hymn tune for singing.
Hymn and poetic metre
In the English language poe ...
*
Metre (poetry)
In poetry, metre ( Commonwealth spelling) or meter ( American spelling; see spelling differences) is the basic rhythmic structure of a verse or lines in verse. Many traditional verse forms prescribe a specific verse metre, or a certain set o ...
References
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Poetic rhythm
Hymnology