Anacreontic poetry

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June 18, 2026

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Anacreontic poetry refers to verse that is convivial or amatory in theme and tone. This style is named after the ancient Greek lyric poet Anacreon, who lived from approximately 582 to 485 BCE.12

While Anacreon wrote in various styles, including serious political commentary, the surviving fragments and later imitations, known as the Anacreontea, primarily celebrate love, wine, and revelry. His treatment of these subjects was characterized by elegance and a dislike for excess, conveying an ironic enjoyment with smooth, creative language. This poetic style significantly influenced Renaissance French poetry and was later adapted by English poets such as Robert Herrick and Thomas Moore.2

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Anacreon
The word Anacreontics was first used in England in 1656 by English poet and essayist Abraham Cowley to denote a verse metre supposedly used by the ancient Greek poet and consisting of seven or eight syllables with three or four main stresses. Anacreon himself, it should be…
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The word Anacreontics was first used in England in 1656 by English poet and essayist Abraham Cowley to denote a verse metre supposedly used by the ancient Greek poet and consisting of seven or eight syllables with three or four main stresses. Anacreon himself, it should be…
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Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim
…1803, Halberstadt) was a German Anacreontic poet.
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…1803, Halberstadt) was a German Anacreontic poet.
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Friedrich von Hagedorn
…usually grouped with the German Anacreontic poets, his model was Horace, rather than the Greek poet Anacreon, and his poetry was not limited to the love and drinking songs characteristic of the Anacreontics. His best and most popular works appeared in Versuch in poetischen Fabeln und Erzählungen (1738; “Attempt at…
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…usually grouped with the German Anacreontic poets, his model was Horace, rather than the Greek poet Anacreon, and his poetry was not limited to the love and drinking songs characteristic of the Anacreontics. His best and most popular works appeared in Versuch in poetischen Fabeln und Erzählungen (1738; “Attempt at…
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Ludwig Heinrich Christoph Hölty
…and the lightness of the Anacreontics’ praises of love and friendship without their superficiality.
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…and the lightness of the Anacreontics’ praises of love and friendship without their superficiality.
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