Poetry Scansion dactylic hexameter n n the basic

Poetry Scansion dactylic hexameter

n n the basic unit of scansion – meter Meter (Latin metrum, -i n. measure) is like the time signature in written music. It tells us how many feet (beats) or units (measures) of rhythm there are in the line (time taken to raise a foot during a dance) n n n The rhythm centers on whether the vowels in the line are long or short. Long vowels are noted with the macron ¯ mark above them. Short vowels are noted with the breve mark above them.

Richard A. La. Fleur, Latin Poetry for the Beginning Student, Longman, 1987, p. ix: n “…ancient poetry was composed to be read aloud (or, in certain instances, to be sung or chanted to musical accompaniment) and with the listening audience, not the reading audience, foremost in mind. The Latin poet hoped to appeal at once to the intellect and to the emotions – in varying proportion, depending upon the particular genre – and his approach to both was through the ear. Both the ‘music’ and the ‘message’ of poetry derived in part from its sound effects…When we read silently…we are neglecting altogether an important aspect of the poet’s artistry…”

Quantity of vowels n A vowel is said to be long in the following ways: n Long by nature: The vowel has a long mark on it naturally. A dictionary is helpful for figuring this out if you are stuck. n There is a diphthong: ae, oe, ei, ui, au, eu n n n Long by position: n n These letter combinations are marked as one syllable, not two because they make only one sound. If the vowel is followed by a double consonant combination, the vowel is marked long. If the vowel is not long, that’s how we know it is short!

Elision n n One key occurrence in poetry is called elision, which causes a vowel or sometimes a syllable to drop. It blends two syllables together that would ordinarily be separate in prose. It is marked with a slur line: and the dropped letter is struck through with a / mark. Elision occurs when one word ends with a vowel and the next word begins with a vowel. n n Example: osculØ ad This is pronounced “osculad”. Example: munerem ad This is pronounced “munerad”. Elision also occurs when one word ends with any vowel + m and the next word begins with a vowel. n / /

Caution! There are some additional idiosyncrasies about scansion that can trip you up and cause you trouble if you aren't careful! 1. Some vowels don’t count for scansion and must be skipped over: 1. The qu is regarded as one letter, not two, because 2. the letters work together to make only one sound. Therefore the –u is not scanned. 1. nequiquam has only 3 vowels to scan. The same is true for gu so the –u is not scanned. 1. sanguinis has only 3 vowels to scan. Hs don’t exist as sounds therefore they do not affect scansion. Just ignore them as though they were invisible. They don’t count for a double consonant even if the letters before them are consonants.

More cautions! 3. The liquid consonants, r and l can really mess up your scansion and cause headaches. If there is a double consonant, and the second one in the pair is an r or an l it might be ignored in the scansion. You just have to try it and see. 4. Watch out for the consonantal –i. You have to remember it is acting as a consonant, so don’t try to scan it. 5. The letter y is always a vowel for Latin. 6. 7. The letter x is only one letter physically, but it counts as a double consonant all by itself because it makes the sound of the double consonant ks. When elision occurs between 2 words and the 2 nd word is est the elision works in reverse, where the –e in est drops, not the vowel for the other word. / n Example: nemo est This is pronounced “nemost”.

Here are some common meters and how to measure them. 1. Dactylic hexameter n n Consists of 6 feet (hex + meter) The most common foot is a dactyl: ¯ You will also have at least one spondee: ¯ ¯ The feet are marked with / between them. Example: When we scan the following line of Latin verse: Pyramus et Thisbe iuvenum pulcherrimus alter It looks like this: ¯ Pyrămŭs /ēt Thīs/bē iŭvĕ/nūm pūl/chērrĭmŭs/ āltēr

Elegiac Couplet 3. n n n This meter consists of one line in Dactylic Hexameter (six feet) followed by one line of Pentameter (five feet) The hexameter line follows the traditional pattern of dactylic hexameter with 6 feet made up of dactyls: ¯ and spondees: ¯ ¯. The pentameter line is made up of 5 feet (penta), but they occur in 2 groups of 2 ½ feet. The pentameter line consists of combinations of dactyls and spondees with 2 monosyllabic feet. The feet are marked with / between them. Example: When we scan the following lines of Latin verse: Multas per gentes et multa per aequora vectus advenio has miseras frater ad inferias It looks like this: ¯ Mūltās/ pēr gēn/tēs ēt /mūltă pĕr/ aequŏră /vēctŭs ādvĕnĭ/Ø hās mĭsĕr/ās/ frātĕr ăd/ īnfĕrĭ/ās.

Now it’s your turn to try! Arma virumque cano, Troiae qui primus ab oris Italiam, fato profugus, Lavin(i)aque venit litora, multum ille et terris iactatus et alto vi superum saevae memorem Iunonis ob iram; multa quoque et bello passus, dum conderet urbem, inferretque deos Latio, genus unde Latinum, Albanique patres, atque altae moenia Romae. These lines are the first sentence of Vergil’s Aeneid! The meter is dac -tylic hexameter.

Aen. 1. 1 -7

And one more. Saepe tibi studioso animo venante requirens carmina uti possem mittere Battiadae, This is from one of Catullus’ elegiac couplets: Poem 116