Dochmiac

Dochmiac (Ancient Greek: δοχμιακός, from δόχμιος 'across, aslant, oblique',[1] or 'pertaining to a δοχμή or hand's-breath'[2]) is a poetic meter that is characteristically used in Greek tragedy, expressing extreme agitation or distress. They appear in every extant tragedy—N.C. Conomis counted a total of 1,985 in the tragedies of Aeschylus (528×), Sophocles (291×), and Euripides (1166×)[3]—, but there are also examples in satyric drama and Aristophanes, where they are often paratragic in tone and impassioned.[4]

Metrical scheme

The base metrical scheme is: ‿ — — ‿ —, although any of the long syllables may be resolved (i.e., replaced by two shorts) and either of the two shorts may be replaced by a long (drag-in where the first is replaced, drag-out where the second is replaced, and double drag where both are replaced).[4] Thus, in theory, 32 variants are possible, ranging from five longs — — — — — to eight shorts, ‿ ‿‿ ‿‿ ‿ ‿‿. The ones occurring most often are

‿ — — ‿ —,

‿ ‿‿ — ‿ —, and

— ‿‿ — ‿ —.

Examples

Here is an example from Aeschylus' Seven against Thebes, lines 697-700, where the chorus in vain tries to withhold Oedipus' son Eteocles from a fatal battle with his brother Polynices. The first three lines here are pairs of — ‿‿ — ‿ — dochmiacs. Long syllables have been underlined. (The fourth line is a hagesichorean.) Note that dochmiacs and even whole lines can start and end in the middle of a word:

ἀλλὰ σὺ μὴ ʼποτρύνου· κακὸς οὐ κεκλή-

σῃ βίον εὖ κυρήσας· μελάναιγις δʼ· οὐκ

εἶσι δόμων Ἐρινύς, ὅταν ἐκ χερῶν

θεοὶ θυσίαν δέχωνται;

allà sù mḕ ’potrú/nou; kakòs ou keklḗ-

sēi bíon eû kurḗ/sas; melánaigis d’ ouk

eîsi dómōn Eri/nús, hótan ek kherôn

theoì thusían dékhōntai?

| – u u – u – | – u u – u – |

| – u u – u – | – u u – – – |

| – u u – u – | – u u – u – |

| u – – u – | u – – ||

No, don't you be excited; you won't be called a coward,

since you have prospered in life; but will not the black-shielded

Erinys (Avenging Spirit) leave your house, when from your hands

the gods will receive a sacrificial offering?

An example of the simplest double drag form (— — — — —) is when the chorus in Aeschylus' Suppliant Maidens, lines 892 and 901, twice sighs:

ὦ πᾶ, Γᾶς παῖ, Ζεῦ.

ô pâ, Gâs paî, Zeû.

| – – – – – |

O Father, Earth's son, Zeus!

References

1. Liddell & Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=do%2Fxmios&la=greek#lexicon
2. Oxford English Dictionary.
3. Conomis, N.C. (1964). "The Dochmiacs of Greek Drama". Hermes. 92 (1): 23–50. JSTOR 4475286. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
4. West, Martin (1982). Greek Metre. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 108–115: 108–109.