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An acrostic (from the late Greek akróstichon, from ákros, "top", and stíchos, "verse") is a poem or other form of writing in an alphabetic script, in which the first letter, syllable or word of each line, paragraph or other recurring feature in the text spells out another message. A form of constrained writing, an acrostic can be used as a mnemonic device to aid memory retrieval. A famous acrostic was made on the Greek for the acclamation JESUS CHRIST, GOD'S SON, SAVIOUR which in Greek is: Iesous CHristos, THeou Uios, Soter (ch and th being each one letter in Greek and u is also y). The initials spell ICHTHUS same as ICHTHYS, Greek for fish; hence the frequent use of the fish by early Christians and up to now as a symbol for Jesus Christ.^[1]

Contents 1 History 2 Overview 3 Examples 4 Multiple acrostics 5 Disputed acrostics 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

[edit] History

The word acrostic was first applied to the prophecies of the Erythraean Sibyl, which were written on leaves and arranged so that the initial letters of the leaves always formed a word.^[2] This technique was later used to ingenious effect by Vladimir Nabokov in his story The Vane Sisters.

[edit] Overview

Acrostics may simply spell out the letters of the alphabet in order; these acrostics occur in the Lamentations of Jeremiah, and in Psalms 9,10, 25, 34, 37, 111, 112, 119 and 145 of the Hebrew Bible^[3]. Two further notable acrostic Psalms are the long Psalm 119, which typically is printed in subsections named after the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, each of which is featured in that section; and Psalm 145 (commonly referred to as "Ashrei"), which is recited three times a day in the Jewish services.

The ease of detectability of an acrostic can depend on the intention of its creator. In some cases an author may desire an acrostic to have a better chance of being perceived by an observant reader, such as the acrostic contained in the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili (where the key capital letters are decorated with ornate embellishments), or as in the poem To Doctor Empiric (by Ben Jonson) which is a verse outlined after the word W-O-L-F giving emphasis to, and capitalizing the key letters so such acrostic is relatively easier to discern.^[4] However, acrostics may also be used as a form of steganography, where the author seeks to conceal the message rather than proclaim it. This might be achieved by making the key letters uniform in appearance with the surrounding text, or by aligning the words in such a way that the relationship between the key letters is less obvious. This is referred to as null ciphers in steganography, using the first letter of each word to form a hidden message in an otherwise innocuous text.^[5] Using letters to hide a message, as in acrostic ciphers, was popular during the Renaissance, and could employ various different methods of enciphering, such as selecting other letters than initials based on a repeating pattern (equidistant letter sequences), or even concealing the message by starting at the end of the text and working backwards.^[6]

[edit] Examples

Here is a modern example of an acrostic poem in English, composed of epigrams in iambic pentameter, arranged in heroic couplets with rhyme pattern a/a, b/b, c/c, d/d/d ending in triplet entitled Serana to WIKIPEDIA,^[7][8]written by David J Serana published in a website dedicated to formal acrostic poetry written in classical verses;

The Dutch national anthem (The William) is an acrostic: the first letters of its fifteen stanzas spell WILLEM VAN NASSOV. This was one of the hereditary titles of William of Orange (William the Silent), who introduces himself in the poem to the Dutch people.

Here is a classic example of acrostic poem in English written by Edgar Allan Poe entitled simply An Acrostic:

Another example is from Lewis Carrol's "Through the Looking-Glass". The final chapter "A Boat, Beneath A Sunny Sky" is an acrostic of the real Alice's name: Alice Pleasance Liddell.

Here is another example where the initial letters spell out the months of the year, entitled A Calendar Acrostic:

[edit] Multiple acrostics

Acrostics can be more complex than just by making words from initials. A double acrostic, for example, may have words at the beginning and end of its lines, as this example, on the name of Stroud, by Paul Hansford -

Other examples can be considerably more complex. The illustration shows a manuscript of the poem Behold, O God, in rivers of my tears by William Browne of Tavistock (found in Withington church, Gloucestershire), which is a triple acrostic showing the three crosses of Christ and the two thieves, each with a quotation from the New Testament account. On the central cross is the label "INRI" above the sentence "O God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"; on the outer crosses "If thou art the Christ, save thyself and us" and "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." The full text (with a few variants, but without the acrostics highlighted) can be found at page 4-5 of this link to Browne's works.

[edit] Disputed acrostics

There are some acrostics whose authenticities are disputed. For instance, the first Hebrew letter of each consecutive Hebrew name from Adam to the father of Abraham appears to form an acrostic that when translated in English reads: I WILL FORGIVE MY ENEMIES, HAVING COMPASSION, FORGIVING THOSE MADE FROM DUST A SECOND TIME.^[9] However, it is debatable whether this acrostic is the result of random chance or by design.

The acrostic appears to be highly structured. For example, the Hebrew word for forgiveness also means, "to lift up". Thus it may also read (and note the play on words), "I will lift up those who have risen up against me, having compassion, lifting up those (laid low in) the dust a second time."

[edit] See also

• Mesostic
• Word square
• Acronym and initialism
• Gordon Macdonald, 1st Baron Macdonald of Gwaenysgor
• O Antiphons

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• A movie review that carries an acrostic message to the film's director
• An unflattering gravestone acrostic poem in a Montreal cemetery
• A lengthy acrostic from the genealogy of Adam to Abraham
• Acrostic of a humorous list of "The Seven Deadly Sins of Venture Capital"
• Acrostic epitaph of Gustavus Conyngham
• A website dedicated to writing formal acrostic poetry