Greek Metre
Paul Maas, H.L. Jones (Translator)THE art of metric is the means by which a regular pattern is imposed upon the natural rhythm of language in a work of literature; so that a more correct name for it would be 'rhythmic' . 1 Metric is part of the art of poetry, just as, say, poetic diction is.
Twice in Greek history a new system of metric has come into being: once (between the eighth and fourth centuries B.c.) a system based on quantitative rhythm, and once (between the fourth and sixth centuries A.D.) a system based on dynamic rhythm. That is why we distinguish between 'Hellenic metric' and 'Byzantine metric'; the latter will be only briefly dealt with here because the literature in question is not wholly Greek in character.
Not all modem European literatures possess a highly developed metric, and those that do have derived it from the quantitative Greek metric. This is especially true of Latin metric and its derivatives, and also of the Grecizing metric of such modem poems as Goethe's Achilleis, Pandora, and Helena.