Alexandrine

Alexandrine, in verse, a line of 12 syllables (or 13 if the last syllable is unstressed), consisting of 6 iambic feet. Some scholars think the name is derived from a 12th-century collection of French romances concerning Alexander the Great. The alexandrine became popular in the 16th century, through the work of Pierre de Ronsard, and soon became accepted as the standard line for epic narrative, tragedy, and high comedy. It remained characteristic of French heroic verse until the middle of the 19th century. The alexandrine also occurs in English poetry, probably the most famous example being the line by Alexander Pope in his Essay on Criticism (Part II, 356-357):