Telestichon

A telestichon (from Greek τέλος télos , German 'end' and Greek στίχος stíchos , German 'verse, line' ) is a text, for example a poem, in which the end letters of the lines read from top to bottom a word or the end words combine Sentence result.

The telestichon, like the acrostichon , the mesostichon and the acroteleuton , belongs to the cryptograms , i.e. secret texts, as well as to the rhetorical figure category . It is used, among other things, as a form of steganography , i.e. the encryption of messages by embedding them in other contexts. In poetry it is found in praise poems or as a dedication.

Examples

Two examples in poems by Josef Mahlmeister (from Kunterbunte Gedichte , 1985)

Ode to my cat

Whether you are now star k

mackerel, umbr a

gray, white or black to t

are you a darling, a cheeky frat z

You'll stay unmistakable Katz e

Your will, so the star k

and is firm, is always d a

No traps will you ever har t

because every so nimble Sat z

is done carefully, by you, the cat e

Autumn riddle

They shine in red, green and yellow b

You also fly without any flights l

They are as asleep, simply d a

They are chestnut to Wieg e

They dance their ballet t in the wind

They are of us do geplätte t

Beautify some all e

We just call them: the… r

Web links

Wiktionary: Telestichon - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations