Literature Glossary
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Over 200 literary terms, Shmooped to perfection.
Alexandrine
Definition:
Named after the ever-so-heroic Alexander the Great, an alexandrine is a line of verse made up of six iambs. If you want to get all fancy about it, you can even say that an alexandrine is a line of poetry written in iambic hexameter (hex means six in Latin).
You'll find alexandrines in French poetry, mainly, but also at the end of Spenserian stanzas.