24

Introduction

6. Language
In contrast to the late fifth-century comedies of Cratinus, Aristophanes, and
Eupolis, the fragments of Anaxandrides contain few overt obscenities or wild
comic coinages, and elevated poetic style is mocked at frr. 6.1-2; 31.1-3; 82. For
possible paratragedy, see Introductions to Helene, Id, and Komdidotragdidiai,
and fr. 55 n.
The fragments contant only two oaths (frr. 1.6; 12.2). Sententiae are com-
mon (e. g. frr. 4.1, 5-6; 18.1-4), although this may be more informative about
the preoccupations of our sources than about the character of Anaxandrides’
plays themselves. Figurative language appears at e. g. frr. 23; 36; 57.4; 59.3; 60;
and probably fr. 70.

7. Metrics and Form
Of the 64 fragments whose meter can be determined with a tolerable degree
of certainty, 5729 (89 %) are in iambic trimeter. These 57 fragments contain a
total of 151 complete lines.
- In the 140 complete lines (92.7 % of 151) with penthemimeral or hepthemi-
meral caesura, penthemimeral caesura predominates by a ratio of 109:31
(~ 78 % vs. 22 %, or 72 % vs. 20.5 % of all complete iambic trimeter lines).
- In the 11 complete lines (7.3% of 151) with neither penthemimeral nor
hepthemimeral caesura, medial caesura is found in frr. 29.2; 38.2; 40.6; 48.2;
57.2; either medial or tetrahemimeral caesura is found in frr. 16.5; 18.1;
34.18; 40.7, 13; 53.13; tetrahemimeral caesura is found in frr. 16.2; 56.1; and
either tetrahemimeral or octhemimeral caesurae is found in frr. 34.6; 53.2.
- There are two perfect lines (i.e. K-y—K-y— with no resolution
or substitution of long for short): frr. 16.1; 57.3.
- Anapaestic metra appear at frr. 18.5; 20; 50.3 (all first foot).
The meters of the other seven fragments (in the order of number of verses
preserved) are:
(1) Anapaestic dimeter (72 lines, = 32% of total lines preserved): frr. 28 (four
lines); 42 (68 fully preserved lines from a total of 71, including five paro-
emiacs (5, 22, 26 [restored], 29, 69) and three monometers (19, 45, 50),

29 Frr. 1-4; 7; 9; 12; 14; 16; 18-23; 25; 29; 31; 33-4; 36; 38; 40-1; 43; 46-50; 52-71; 73;
81; 83.