Dochmiac

Dochmiac (Ancient Greek: δοχμιακός, from δόχμιος 'across, aslant, oblique', or 'pertaining to a δοχμή or hand's-breath') is a poetic meter that is characteristically used in Greek tragedy, expressing extreme agitation or distress. They appear in every extant tragedy—N.C. Conomis counted a total of 1,985 in the tragedies of Aeschylus (528×), Sophocles (291×), and Euripides (1166×)—, but there are also examples in satyric drama and Aristophanes, where they are often paratragic in tone and impassioned.