Notes on Scansion
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Poetic meter
Latin poetry was written in verse, which is metrically scanned. Each vowel is scanned either long (⎯)or short (∪).
The poet positioned the words to correspond with the meter he is writing in. The meter we will be working with is
called Dactylic Hexameter.
Dactylic Hexameter
Each line is made up of six feet of dactyls ( ⎯ ∪ ∪) and spondees (⎯ ⎯).
The ultimate foot (last foot or 6th foot) is always a spondee (⎯ ⎯).
The penultimate foot (2nd to last or 5th foot) is always a dactyl ( ⎯ ∪ ∪) .
The first four feet are made up of either dactyls or spondees in any order.
Scanning each vowel long (⎯) or short (∪)
Vowels are either long by nature or by position.
A vowel is long by nature if that form naturally has a long mark. For example: 1st declension nouns in the ablative
singular (puella), 1st and 2nd declenstion dative and ablative plural (amicis), 4th declension genitive singular
(manus)
Or
A vowel is long by nature if it is a diphthong. A diphthong is 2 vowels next to each other and pronounced together.
The diphthongs are ae, eu, oe, ui, au, ei. For example: multae
A vowel is long by position if it is followed by 2 consonants (b,c,d,f,g, etc.) or the consonant x (double consonant
cs)
[A few notes on vowels and consonants: In Latin the letter “i” can be both a vowel
and a consonant. It can be the equivalent of the consonant “j” when it is placed
before another vowel. For example: iubeo, iam, iuvenis, iacio (the first “i” in iacio
and not the second).
The following consonant pairs may ( or may not) count as only 1 consonant: bl, br,
cl, cr, dl, dr, gl, gr, pl, pr, tl, tr.
The letter “h” is neither a vowel nor a consonant in Latin and should be ignored.
When the letter “u” follows a “q” or a “g” (“qu,” “gu”) it is not scanned. It is
considered part of the consonants “q” and “g.”]
Elision
Vowels can be elided and, therefore, not scanned. An elision occurs when one word ends with a vowel and the
next word begins with a vowel. When this happens the vowel at the end of the word is crossed out and you
continue with the meter on the next vowel. For example: quoque erat.
An elision also occurs when one word ends in “um” “em” “am” and the following word begins with a vowel. For
example: puellam illa.
NOTE: a prodelision occurs when the word preceding est or es ends with “um.” In this case the “e” of est or es is
elided. For example nimium est.
NAME ____________________________________________
Dacylic Hexameter Worksheet
Answer the following questions about the first five lines of Pyramus and Thisbe:
1. Why is the “y” in Pyramus long?
why)
by nature
by position (if by position, explain
2. Why is the “i” in Thisbe long?
why)
by nature
by position (if by position, explain
3. Why is the final “a” in altera (line 2) short?
4. Why is praelata (l. 2) only 3 syllables when there are 4 vowels?
5. How many consonants follow the first “i” in cinxisse? ______________________________________
Scan the following lines:
Tempore crevit amor taedae quoque iure coissent
Sed vetuere patres Quod non potuere vetare
Ex aequo captis ardebant mentibus ambo
conscius omnis abest nutu signisque loquuntur
Quoque magis tegitur tectus magis aestat ignis
Answer the following question about the previous 5 lines:
1. How many dactyls are in line 1?
2. Why does the “e” in quoque (l.1) not elide?
3. Why is the “e” in ex (l.2) long?
why)
by nature
by position (if by position, explain
4. How many vowels in loquuntur (l.4) are scanned? Why?
5. Why is the “i” in captis (l.3) long, but the “i” in omnis (l.4 ) is short?