Latin Meter: an introduction. Dactylic Hexameter

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1 Latin Meter: an introduction Dactylic Hexameter

2 English Poetry: Poe s The Raven Trochaic Octameter / x / x / x / x / x / x / x / x Once up- on a mid- night drear- y, while I pon- dered weak and wear- y / x / x x / x / x x / x / x / x / O- ver man- y a quaint and cur- i- ous vol- ume of for- got- ten lore, / x / x / x / x / x / x / x / x While I nod- ded, nearly nap- ping, sud- den- ly there came a tap- ping, / x / x / x / x / x / x / x / As of some- one gent- ly rap- ping, rap- ping at my cham- ber door. / x / x / x / x / x / x / x / Tis some vis- i- tor, I mut- tered, tap- ping at my cham- ber door; / x / x / x / On- ly this, and noth- ing more.

3 Scansion n Scansion: from the Latin scandere, to move upward by steps. Scansion is the science of scanning, of dividing a line of poetry into its constituent parts. n To scan a line of poetry is to follow the rules of scansion by dividing the line into the appropriate number of feet, and indicating the quantity of the syllables within each foot. n A line of dactylic hexameter is properly scanned when divided into six feet, with each foot labelled a dactyl or a spondee.

4 Metrical Symbols: long: short: u syllaba anceps: u (may be long or short) Basic Feet: dactyl: u u spondee: Dactylic Hexameter: Each line has six feet, of which the first five may be either dactyls or spondees, though the fifth is nearly always a dactyl ( u u), and the sixth must be either a spondee ( ) or a trochee ( u), but we will treat it as a spondee. Last syllables are always indifferent but should be marked as long in the opinion of many, including the folks at the AP office.

5 Major Rules 1. Double consonants: vowel in front is (exception: 2 nd consonant is l or r). 2. Diphthongs are vowels, 2 sounds: 1 st vowel is u (short). (exception: Greek words like Aenēas) 4. Elision: Vowel at end of word or vowel + m, if next word begins with vowel or h, then you drop (elide) the first vowel.

6 Major Rules 5. Six feet in line; only spondees ( ) and dactyls ( uu) are used. 6. Foot five and six are always (99.9%): dactyl ( uu) and spondee ( ). 7. x is a double consonant. h is not a consonant. qu is a consonant.

7 Major Rules 8. Final (last letter in word) ō is long. (exception: ego) Final ī is long. (exception: mihi, tibi sibi) Final ū is long. 9. Final a is ā in 1 st declension ablative, but not in nominative or in any neuters. 10. Final e is long in 5 th declension nouns (rē, diē), but not in 3 rd declension nouns.

8 Mutes and Liquids n Continuants: Nasals: m, n Liquids: l, r Sibilants: s n Mutes/Stops (b c d f g p t) Labials: b, p, f Dentals: t, d, th Palatals: c, ch, g, k n Combinations of mute and liquid : bl, br; cl, chl, cr, chr; dr; fl, fr; gl, gr; pl, pr; tr, and thr

9 Consonants n some pairs of consonants count for one, as follows: qu counts as a single consonant, and does not make position. ch, ph, and th also count as single consonants. (In general, h can be ignored for purposes of scansion h is not a consonant, but an aspirant, a breathing) n Combinations of mute and liquid (bl, br; cl, chl, cr, chr; dr; fl, fr; gl, gr; pl, pr; tr, and thr) may or may not make position some call this poet s choice. mute consonants are b c d f g p t liquid consonants are l and r n However, they always make position when the two letters are in different words: for example, in bona druidum the second syllable may be either long or short, but in apud rēgem, the second syllable (pud) must be long. spondee:

10 Syllables and 2x Consonants n Vowels are either long or short by nature : those which are long by nature are marked so in some texts (ā ē ī ō ū). n All diphthongs (ae, au, ei, eu, oe, and sometimes ui) are long by nature. Ui is only a diphthong in the pronoun forms cuius and cui, huius and huic, and the exclamation hui! Fuit and ruit are two syllables each. n Syllables are short, unless there is some reason for them to be long n Final o and i are long (except for ego, mihi, tibi, and sibi). n Syllables are long by nature if they contain a vowel (or diphthong), or they are long by position if they are followed by two or more consonants. In the latter case, the vowel is still short, but the syllable is long, because the consonants make position. n However, some single consonants count for two, as follows x and z are double consonants, and make position all by themselves: x = c + s and z = d + z.

11 Elision n Elision occurs when one word ends with a vowel and the next word begins with a vowel. Example: osculø ad This is pronounced osculad n Elision also occurs when one word ends with any vowel + m and the next word begins with a vowel.

12 Elision n Elision: If a word ending with a vowel or m is followed by a word beginning with a vowel or h, the two syllables combine into a single elided syllable, which keeps the quantity of the second of the two. n Normally the first of the two is swallowed up (atque oculīs > atqu oculīs, monstrum horrendum ingēns > monstr horrend ingēns, multum ille et > mult ill et). n Prodelision: If the second word is es or est, then the ending of the first word is kept, and the e of the second word is swallowed up (ambiguō est > ambiguō st, mora est > mora st, deōrum est > deōrum st).

13 Caesura n Caesura (from the Latin caedere, to cut ) is a division between words that occurs within a foot. There may be many caesurae in a line; but there will usually be only one principal caesura (usually within the 3 rd foot after the 5 th place; one place consists either of two shorts or one long syllable). May also appear in 2 nd or 4 th foot n The main caesura in a line, usually marks not only a division between words, but also a pause in the sense of the line.

14 ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ Arma virumque cano, Troiae qui primus ab oris ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ Italiam fato profugus Laviniaque venit ˇ ˇ -E- -E- ˇ ˇ litora multum ille et terris iactatus et alto ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ vi superum, saevae memorem Iunonis ob iram, ˇ ˇ -E- ˇ ˇ multa quoque et bello passus, dum conderet urbem ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ ˇ inferretque deos Latio genus unde Latinum ˇ ˇ -E- ˇ ˇ Albanique patres atque altae moenia Romae.

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