WORD: Dithyrambic

Aristotle writes that "Dithyrambic poetry" is among the kind of poetry that combines "all the means enumerated, rhythm, melody, and verse" (224). The OED defines dithyrambic as "pertaining to" or "resembling a dithyramb in irregularity of style; wild, vehement, boisterous". Disecting the word even further (to dithyramb) the OED describes this as "a Greek choric hymn, originally in honor of Dionysus or Bacchus, vehement and wild in character". This type of poetry uses all of the elements that Aristotle considers important, as well as reflects the crazy character of the Greek god Dionysus. Aristotle later explains that the elements of rythym, melody, and verse in this type of poetry could be used all at once or separately to achieve the same effect.