Metrics and Scansion
Meter - a specific rhythmic pattern for poetic lines. Think of it as the background music in a movie.
Foot - building block of meter; a metric line consists of a fixed number of feet.
Quantity - the length of a syllable, either long (-) or short (u).
Dactyl - poetic foot comprised of a long syllable followed by two short syllables (- u u). Dactyls quicken the pace.
Spondee - poetic foot comprised of two long syllables (- -). Spondees slow the pace.
Caesura - break between words in a foot, is used to emphasize the word immediately preceding or following it, and is noted by the || . When a word ends immediately after the first syllable of the third foot, it is called a masculine caesura. When the pause comes between the short syllables of a dactylic third foot, it is called a feminine caesura.
Types of Caesurae
Semiternaria (trihemimeral) after the third half foot – second foot
Semiquinaria (penthemimeral) after the fifth half foot – third foot
Semiseptenaria (hepthemimeral) after the seventh half foot – fourth foot
Scansion - the process of marking the quantities in the feet of a given meter
Dactylic Hexameter - meter of epic poetry, comprised of 6 feet of dactyls or spondees.
The pattern for dactylic hexameter is below. Feet are marked by one vertical line ( | ). The deliberate break in the middle of the third foot is called a caesura and is marked by a double vertical line ( || ).
- u u | - u u | - || u u | - u u | - u u | - x
or
- - | - - | - || - | - - | - u u | - x
The last syllable is called an anceps and can be either long or short. On occasion a spondee can be used in the fifth line. When this happens, we call it a spondaic line.
Dipthong - two or more vowels that are pronounced as one sound
Elision - when two words, the first ending with a vowel, the second beginning with a vowel are blended together in pronunciation.
Hiatus - when an elision should occur, but does not.
Substitution - phenomenon by which the second long syllable of a spondee can replace the two short syllables of a dactyl.
Rules of Elision
1 When one word ends with a vowel and the next word begins with a vowel, the last syllable of the first word is dropped and both words are pronounced together.
Colligere incertos et = colligere incertos et = colligerincertos et
2 When the second word in an elision is es or est (forms of esse), the “e” drops out instead of the terminal vowel of the first word. N.B. - this is called aphaeresis.
Ingenii est experientis = ingenii est experientis = ingeniist experientis
3 When a word ends in “m” and is followed by a word that begins with a vowel, the words elide. N. B. - this is called ecthlipsis.
Nec durum in pectore = nec durum in pectore = nec durin pectore
4 When a word ends with a vowel and the next word beings with an “h”, the words elide.
Ite hinc, difficiles funebria = ite hinc, difficiles funebria = itinc difficiles funebria
Summation
1st word 2nd word
vowel vowel
m vowel
vowel h
Rules for Scansion
Long by Position
A vowel followed by two or more consonants is long by position.
- Can stretch across word breaks
- however, a word that ends in a vowel and is followed by two consonants is not always long
- “h” is not considered a consonant
- “k”, “x”, or “z” are considered automatically as double consonants
- “ph” and “th” are considered single consonants
Long by Nature
All dipthongs are long by nature (ae, au, ei, eu sometimes, oe, ui).
The “u” of “qu” or “gu” does not form a dipthong.
Common Long Syllables
īs, ēbus
ārum, ōrum, ērum
Ablative singular of all declensions except third.
ī, ēs
ās, ōs, ēs
ā, ē, ī in infinitives of 1st, 2nd, and 4th conjugations
Diastole - lengthening of an ordinarily short vowel often with an archaic pronunciation
liliaque pictasque pilas et ab arbore lapsas
Systole - shortening of an ordinarily long vowel often with an archaic pronunciation
Nam puto sentirem si quo temptarer amore
Tmesis - separation of compound word into its parts for metrical convenience
colla canis vidit, quem non pavor ante reliquit,
quam natura prior, saxo per corpus oborto;
Ovid’s Metric Style
Prefers dactyl over spondee to keep pace flowing
Average ration of 20 to 12 dactyls in Metamorphoses
Cuts down on number of ellisions compared to other poets and doesn’t use them at significant places again in order to keep the pace flowing.
Uses multiple types of caesurae.