Symmetry and Verbal Parallelisms in Lycophron’s Alexandra

Abstract

This article presents a survey of the symmetrical use and repetition of words in the Alexandra. There are about 200 dis legomena in the poem. They can be divided into two groups: words appearing in the first and the second part of the poem (i.e. before and after line 737, which constitutes its middle point), and those used twice in the same part. Parallels of the first group form a kind of ring structure that both serves the function of a framework and places an emphasis on the central part of the poem, i.e. the so called Odyssey and the Siren episode in particular. In turn, doublets of the second group exert an influence on the rhythmisation of the Alexandra, enhancing its euphony.