SCANSION

1
SCANSION
In English poetry, metre is governed by where the
stress falls, but Latin metre is based on
patterns of heavy and light syllables i.e.
containing long or short vowels. The ictus falls
on the first syllable of a group. In spoken Latin
the penultimate syllable of a word is usually
stressed but sometimes it is the one before. It
is not very clear how these two ways of reading
Latin verse complemented or competed with each
other!
2
Metre is not something you really need to worry
about (you can achieve top marks in
public exams without mentioning it!) but it
can be useful to understand and be able to use
technical terms like the dactylic metre the
spondaic feel of this line the coincidence of
ictus and accent early caesura and other
pauses the two elisions increase the
speed The metre will influence the basic feel
of a poem and will give you some indication of
what its subject-matter is likely to be.
3
Most of the examples in this presentation are
taken from the OCR 2010 GCSE Legacy specification
for 2010 with the A2 Catullus selection
interspersed. Other examples will be added
from time to time so check for updates. Updates
can be found here http//www.pyrrha.me.uk/jmeetpyr
.html If this is your first experience of the
scansion of poetic metre do not try to
remember everything at once - just relax and
try to enjoy it! N.B. There are Appendices at
the end to help with the process of
scansion. You can email me for help using the
Links/contact page of the Pyrrha website.
4
SCANSION of poetry- this means analysing the
metre

• Hendecasyllables
• Hexameters
• Elegiac Couplets (Hexameter plus Pentameter)
• Asclepiads
• Sapphics, Alcaics...
• Limping Iambics, Galliambics
• Dimeters, Trimeters and Tetrameters

5
Latin poetry does not rhyme! Instead, it
uses patterns of heavy and light syllables. Heavy
syllables contain a long vowel and light ones
contain a short vowel.
When you see marked over a vowel it means it is
LONG eg the ablative singular of 1st Declension
nouns _ a The symbol for a SHORT
vowel is u a x denotes a syllable
which can be either heavy or light.
If a word ends with a vowel (or -m) and the next
word starts with a vowel (or h-), the two sounds
are ELIDED - slurred together.
6
Hendecasyllables have eleven syllables in each
line (in Greek hen 1, deca 10) and they
follow this pattern x x - u u - u - u -
x (the first two can be any
combination except u u) - - - uu -
u-u-- quaeris, quot mihi basiationes
u- - uu - u - u - u tuae,
Lesbia, sint satis superque. Catullus Poem
7 When you read Catullus personal poetry you do
not realise at first that he is choosing his
words carefully to fit this metrical pattern!
The poems are not written in such a casual style
as you might imagine.
7
Asclepiads are said to be named after the Greek
poet Asclepius (but nothing is known about
him!) and they follow this pattern - - - u u
- - u u - u x twice - - - u u - - - -
- u u - u x - - - u u-- uu - u -
quis multa gracilis te puer in rosa - - -
uu - - u u -u - perfusus liquidis urget
odoribus - - - u u - -
grato, Pyrrha, sub antro? - - - uu - u
- cui flavam religas comam, Horace Odes I
5 Horace enjoyed adapting Greek metres to the
requirements of Latin poetry.
8
Sapphics are named after the Greek poetess Sappho
who lived on the island of Lesbos
(Catullus named his
girlfriend Lesbia after her) and they follow
this pattern - u - - - u u - u - - three
times - u u - x - u
- -- u u - u - - Furi et Aureli,
comites Catulli, - u - - - u u
- u - - sive in extremos penetrabit
Indos, - u - - - u u -
u - - litus ut longe resonante Eoa
- u u - - tunditur
unda. Catullus 11 The short last line of each
stanza forms a distinctive finale.
9
Iambic Trimeter
Iambics are
used extensively in Greek Tragedy - fairly
quick-moving pairs of syllables with a light one
followed by a heavy in each pair. u -

• Catullus 4 uses two sets of three iambs, possibly
  to represent the speed of the now-retired boat
  which is the subject of the poem.
• u - u -u - u - u - u -
• phaselus ille quem videtis hospites
• The final syllable of each line does not have to
  be heavy.

10
Limping Iambics The correct name for this metre
is either Choliambics or Scazons. Imagine a line
of 5 iambs, u - u - u - u - u
-
and then at the end instead of the iamb you are
expecting there is either - - - a
spondee or - u - a trochee
You can see why they are called limping iambics!
Very effective if the poet wants to emphasise
something at the end of each line, and when the
line is also end-stopped there is even more
emphasis.
11
Catullus 8 u - u - u - u - u
- - x miser Catulle, desinas
ineptire, et quod vides perisse perditum
ducas. fulsere quondam candidi tibi
soles, cum ventitabas quo puella ducebat, In
this poem Catullus is urging himself to stop
being silly and to realise that his girlfriend
does not really love him. The limping stress at
the end of each line is extremely effective and
could be interpreted as emphasising his
determination /desperation.
12
To gain an insight into the effects created by
this metre we should look at which poems Catullus
uses it for

• 8 showing his own folly
• 22 and 44, complaining about the bad poetry of
  Suffenus and Sestius
• 39, 59 and 60, invective against people he does
  not like

So perhaps it is not the most overtly poetic of
all metres!
13
Hexameter (in Greek hex 6) This is the metre
used for epic poetry - very heroic and noble and
it has a lot of flexibility! It uses particular
patterns of heavy and light syllables within each
line You might like to think of the heavy
syllables as crotchets in music and the light
ones as quavers. A crotchet is twice as long as a
quaver.
_ u u
14
A sequence of two heavy syllables is a SPONDEE
_ _
One heavy syllable followed by two lights is a
DACTYL
- u u
15
In music you might have a tune which has 6 bars
in 2/4 time.
l
l
l
l
l
l
l

16
In music you might have a tune which has 6 bars
in 2/4 time.
l
l
l
l
l
l
l
In poetry, the equivalent of this line is called
a Hexameter (Hex is Greek for 6) Each division is
called a FOOT not a bar.

l - - - u u - - - - - u u -
x

• The 5th foot in a Hexameter is always a DACTYL
  - u u
• The 6th foot in a Hexameter is always
  - X
• The first 4 feet can be either - -
  or - u u
• There is a natural break called a CAESURA in the
  middle of the 3rd or 4th foot.

17
Ovid Amores III 2 1 - 14 Ovid picks a
Favourite at the Races Hexameter line of Elegiac
couplet Look at how the dactylic metre adds to
the speed of this line
- u u - u u - u u -
u u - u u - -
11 et modo lora dabo, modo verbere terga
notabo
Ovid Metamorphoses XI 415 - 43 Alcyone and
Ceyx Hexameter Remember that Alcyone is weeping
as she speaks look at how the spondees and the
double consonants slow the line down.
The stress of the words does not always coincide
with the metrical ictus. Notice how this adds to
the jerkiness of the first part of the line.
- - - u u- - - - - u u
- -
lt
lt
lt
lt
6 singultuque pias interrumpente
querellas
18
Elegiac couplets are made up of alternate
Hexameters and Pentameters (in Greek pent 5)
This is the metre used for love poetry and light
themes, and the sense is usually contained within
the two line unit. The first poem in Ovids
Amores explains that he was trying to write an
important and serious epic poem, but the god
Cupid sneaked up and stole the last foot from the
second line, making it into a Pentameter! When
Ovid complained, calling him a savage boy,
Cupid retaliated by making him fall desperately
in love so that he would write love poetry!
arma gravi numero violentaque bella parabam
Hexameter edere, materia conveniente modis.
Pentameter par erat inferior versus risisse
Cupido Hexameter dicitur atque unum
surripuisse pedem. Pentameter quis
tibi, saeve puer, dedit hoc in carmina iuris?
Hexameter
19
A Pentameter has 5 feet (so it is shorter than a
Hexameter.)
After the Caesura it is always - u u - u u
- If you add this up you will see it makes
21/2 feet, (dah-diddy dah-diddy dah!)
so you can put the extra half-foot just before
the Caesura total - 3 feet.
- u u - u u -
-
Then the first two feet are either spondees or
dactyls. - u u - u u - - u u - u u
- - - - -
20
Catullus Poem 85 Conflicting Emotions Elegiac
Couplet Look at how the elisions add to the
speed and colloquialism of this epigram
- u u - - - u u- - - u u- -
odi et amo. quare id faciam, fortasse requiris.
- uu - uu- - u u - u u-
nescio, sed fieri sentio et excrucior.
21
The metrical ictus is on the first syllable of
each foot, but in spoken Latin the stress is on
the penultimate syllable (or the one before if
the penultimate is short).
- u u - - - u u - - -
u u - -
lt lt
lt lt
lt
lt
odi et amo. quare id faciam, fortasse requiris.
- uu - uu- - u u - u u-
lt
lt lt
lt
nescio, sed fieri sentio et excrucior.
This creates an interesting tension between the
metrical ictus and the spoken stress
accent.
22
Petronius fragment Love will not let the poet
sleep Elegiac couplets - both examples are
Pentameters. Look at the breaks and the caesura
in line 6 and the effect of the stress accent.
The breaks in the first half of the line follow
the spoken stress accent but ictus and accent
coincide in the second half. (NB The i of
iacere is consonontal ie equivalent to j
rather than i)
- u u- - - - u u - u u -
lt lt lt
lt
lt lt
6 solus, io, solus, dure, iacere potes?

Look at the similarities between the two halves
of line 8, and the speed created by dactyls
elisions
- u u - uu- - u u - u u-
8 omne iter impedio, nullum iter expedio
23
Virgil Aeneid Book XI 176 - 502 Nisus and
Euryalus Hexameters These examples
show how the use of spondaic or dactylic rhythms
can enhance the effect of what the poet is trying
to convey.
- u u - u u- u u- - - u u- -
4 his amor unus erat pariterque in bella
ruebant They are enthusiastic about their
feelings for each other and they rush into battle
together.
- - - - - - - - -u u - -
7 laxabant curas et corda oblita laborum
Night is
described as relaxing everyones worries.
- - - - - - - - -u u - -

1. stant longis adnixi hastis et scuta tenentes
   Although they are eager to rush off they
   have to wait patiently for permission to go.

24
Virgil Aeneid Book XI Nisus and Euryalus
Hexameters How does this line emphasise the
drama of the betraying flash from the helmet?
- u u - u u - uu- - - u
u- -
54 prodidit immemorem radiisque adversa
refulsit
Here Virgil emphasises that he is trapped in a
circle of the enemy.
- - - - - u u - - - u
u - -
60 hinc atque hinc, omnemque abitum custode
coronant
Notice how the caesura is blocked - mirroring
the sense of the line as he is surrounded with no
way out! This line has its caesura in the middle
of the second foot instead of the third.
25
How do these four lines emphasise the threat
posed by Volcens?
61 saevit atrox Volcens nec teli conspicit usquam
62 auctorem nec quo se ardens immittere possit.
63 tu tamen interea calido mihi sanguine poenas
64 persolves amborum inquit simul ense recluso
Lots of long, threatening, scary spondees in the
first two lines and then speed created by the
dactyls in the second two lines as he utters his
threats.
How does this line emphasise the desperation of
Nisus?
68 me, me, adsum qui feci, in me convertite
ferrum,
Long despairing spondees with the only speed in
the dactylic 5th foot what he is begging them to
do.
26
Virgil Aeneid Book XI Nisus and Euryalus
Hexameters This line tells of the death of
Euryalus. Commentators point out the
coincidence of ictus and accent in the second
half of the line, emphasising the finality of
death.
- - - u u- u u - - - u
u- -
lt lt
lt
86 confossus, placidaque ibi demum morte
quievit.
So those people who think that Latin poetry
should be read solely according to the ictus of
the metre would lose the drama of this emphasis!
27

• Can we find connections between Latin poetry and
  Spanish flamenco?
• On listening to some flamenco music I was struck
  by the way in which there is more than one rhythm
  going on at the same time and I would like to
  thank Jenny Nicholson who has arranged, performed
  and recorded this Sevillana for us.
• You will need to download this separately from
  www.pyrrha.me.uk (on the meet Pyrrha page) and
  then put it into a folder with the powerpoint so
  that it will play when you click the icon.

It uses a 12-beat compas which has its accents
thus 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 This tune
starts on the 4th beat (some start on the 8th or
12th)
28
Catullus Poem 63 Attis - hymn to Cybele
GALLIAMBICS A very complicated metre you can
look on the internet to see how scholars disagree
with each other about how it is organised! This
is the only Latin poem written in this metre,
which was used for hymns to the Mother Goddess
Cybele sung by her eunuch priests the Galli as
they rushed around citatis
tripudiis (line 26) with fast ritual 3-beat
dances
The flamenco on the previous slide is played to a
12-beat compas
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 The tune
starts on the 4th beat (some start on the 8th or
12th) but the dancers have a 3-beat dance and
there is a lot of 2 against 3 rhythm going on.
Perhaps this is a useful comparison to bear in
mind when trying to work out the rhythmic pattern
of poem 63 ?
29
Catullus Poem 63 Attis - hymn to Cybele
GALLIAMBICS Each line can be analysed as being
composed of two anacreontics (named after the
Greek poet Anacreon) u u - u - u - - Some
heavy syllables can be resolved into two
lights, some lights can be merged into one heavy,
the final syllable of the line is lost (called
catalexis) and the last one can be either heavy
or light.
The dance was accompanied by frenzied drumming
and cymbal clashes di-di-dum
di-dum di-dum - dum, di-di-dum -di-di-di-di-di
! as well as the music of a low-sounding Phrygian
pipe which Professor Wiseman thinks might have
sounded like a baritone sax.
- - u - u - - - -
u - u u

1. iam iam dolet quod egi iam iamque
   paenitet This is the shortest
   line, where Attis regrets what he has done.

u u uuu u u u - - u u
- u u u uu
63 ego mulier, ego adulescens, ego ephebus,
ego puer This is the longest line, where Attis
is remembering all the different identities (s)he
has had.
30
An exploration of some of Ovid Metamorphoses Book
VIII (OCR AS) and Aeneid II (OCR GCSE)
31
Ovid Metamorphoses VIII lines 81 Notice the
patterns of slow and quick action here
contrasting between the peaceful night and
Scyllas quick movements. talia dicenti curarum
maxima nutrix nox intervenit tenebrisque audacia
crevit. prima quies aderat, qua curis fessa
diurnis pectora somnus habet thalamos taciturna
paternos intrat et (heu facinus!) fatali nata
parentem
32
Line 85 - intrat et (heu facinus!) fatali nata
parentem crine suum spoliat praedaque potita
nefanda fert secum spolium sceleris
progressaque porta per medios hostes (meriti
fiducia tanta est) pervenit ad regem, quem sic
adfata paventem est
33
Line 90 Does the metre enhance the effect here?
What sort of person does Scylla present herself
as? How does Ovid show her ruthlessness and
Minoss reaction? 'suasit amor facinus proles
ego regia Nisi Scylla tibi trado patriaeque
meosque Penates. praemia nulla peto nisi te
cape pignus amoris purpureum crinem nec me nunc
tradere crinem, sed patrium tibi crede caput'
scelerataque dextra munera porrexit. Minos
porrecta refugit turbatusque novi respondit
imagine facti
34
Line 97 - How does Ovid emphasise Minoss
reaction? 'di te submoveant, o nostri infamia
saecli, orbe suo, tellusque tibi pontusque
negetur. certe ego non patiar Iovis incunabula,
Creten, qui meus est orbis, tantum contingere
monstrum. dixit, et ut leges captis
iustissimus auctor hostibus imposuit, classis
retinacula solvi iussit et aeratas impelli
remige puppes.
35
Aeneid II Lines 268-280 298-317 624-654
671-716, 768-795 Notice the difference between
the peaceful night, the excitement of what Hector
has done and the solemn sadness Spondaic or
Dactylic lines. incipit et dono divum
gratissima serpit. 269 in somnis, ecce, ante
oculos maestissimus Hector 270 visus adesse mihi
largosque effundere fletus raptatus bigis ut
quondam, aterque cruento pulvere perque pedes
traiectus lora tumentes
36
Aeneid II Lines 268-280 298-317 624-654
671-716, 768-795 Notice the difference between
the excitement of what Hector has done and
sadness. ei mihi, qualis erat, quantum mutatus
ab illo Hectore qui redit exuvias indutus
Achilli vel Danaum Phrygios iaculatus puppibus
ignes! squalentem barbam et concretos sanguine
crines vulneraque illa gerens, quae circum
plurima muros accepit patrios. ultro flens ipse
videbar compellare virum et maestas expromere
voces 280
37
Aeneid II Lines 298- Notice the effect of
dactyls on the speed, and also elisions. diverso
interea miscentur moenia luctu 298 excutior
somno et summi fastigia tecti 302 ascensu
supero atque arrectis auribus asto 303 in
segetem veluti cum flamma furentibus Austris
304 Ucalegon Sigea igni freta lata relucent
312
38
Aeneid II Lines 298- Notice the effect of
dactyls on the speed, and also elisions. arma
armens capio nec sat rationis in armis,
314 sed glomerare manum bello et concurrere in
arcem 315
39
Aeneid II Lines 624 654 - Look at the
long, sad syllables and elisions as Aeneas is
emphasising the sadness of the fall of Troy, and
the contrast with the quick successive (dactylic)
axe-blows in 627 tum vero omne mihi visum
considere in ignes 624 Ilium et ex imo verti
Neptunia Troia ac veluti summis antiquam in
montibus ornum cum ferro accisam crebrisqued
bipennibus instant eruere agricolae certatim,
illa usque minatur et tremefacta comam concusso
vertice nutat, 629
40
Aeneid II Lines 630 - 1 The tree eventually
gives way. vulneribus donec paulatim evicta
supremum 630 congemuit traxitque iugis avulsa
ruinam.
41
Aeneid II Lines 639 40 See Anchises
emotion in the broken syntax, alliteration,
dactylic rhythm (apart from the contrast with
suo stant and then the totally broken line
640. Does this stress Anchises emotion or is it
a line which Virgil was intending to revise and
finish? Either way, it shows its importance,
since it should not be like this! sanguis, ait,
solidaeque suo stant robore vires, vos agitate
fugam.
640 Notice the long syllables which emphasise
Anchises reluctance in 650 talia perstabat
memorans fixusque manebat.
42
Aeneid II Lines 671 - Look at the long, sad
syllables, enjambements and elisions as Aeneas is
reluctantly going to war (especially 672) and
Creusa is desperately trying to stop him. hinc
ferro accingor rursus clipeoque sinistram
671 insertabam aptans meque extra tecta
ferebam, ecce autem complexa pedes in limine
coniunx haerebat, parvumque patri tendebat
Iulum 674
43
Aeneid II Line 675 - How does the metre
emphasise Creusas anger that Aeneas intends to
go out to his death, but also wants him to take
her and their son with him? si periturus abis,
et nos rape in omnia tecum 675
44
Aeneid II Line 675 - How does the metre
emphasise Creusas anger that Aeneas intends to
go out to his death, but also wants him to take
her and their son with him? si periturus abis,
et nos rape in omnia tecum 675 Lines 685 -
6 How does the metre contrast their panic with
the true sacred and solemn nature of the
omen? nos pavidi trepidare metu crinemque
flagrantem 685 excutere et sanctos
restinguere fontibus ignes.
45
Aeneid II Lines 769 - Notice how Aeneas
desperation and panic at losing Creusa is
emphasised by dactyls and elisions, and his
sadness by spondees (maestus, nequiquam). implevi
clamore vias, maestusque Creusam
769 nequiquam ingeminans iterumque iterumque
vocavi
46
Aeneid II Lines 769 - Notice how Aeneas
desperation and panic at losing Creusa is
emphasised by dactyls and elisions, and his
sadness by spondees (maestus, nequiquam). implevi
clamore vias, maestusque Creusam
769 nequiquam ingeminans iterumque iterumque
vocavi 770 Line 774 - Aeneas is in total shock
to see Creusa as a larger-than-life sized
apparition you can see his panic in the dactyls
and elision. obstipui, steteruntque comae et vox
faucibus haesit 774
47
Aeneid II Lines 780 A dactylic rhythm is used
first to emphasise all the hard work and
travelling still in store for Aeneas as he
searches for his destined new country, but in the
second line it represents the gentle waves of the
river Tiber through the beautiful
countryside. longa tibi exsilia et vastum maris
aequor arandum 780 et terram Hesperiam venies,
ubi Lydius arva inter opima virum leni fluit
agmine Thybris.
48
Aeneid II Line 787 another incomplete line!
This time it emphasises Creusas status as a
Trojan lady and the daughter-in-law of the
goddess Venus. Dardanis et divae Veneris nurus
49
Aeneid II Line 787 another incomplete line!
This time it emphasises Creusas status as a
Trojan lady and the daughter-in-law of the
goddess Venus. Dardanis et divae Veneris
nurus Line 789 You can easily work out what
Creusas most important message to Aeneas is
about by looking for the long, heavy syllables
(spondaic rhythm) among the dactyls. iamque vale
et nati serva communis amorem.
50
Aeneid II Lines 790 791 Very dactylic
lines the only spondee has an elision in it to
add to the speed, really emphasising Aeneas
desperation and panic as the ghost of Creusa
disappears into the breezes while he is trying to
embrace her. haec ubi dicta dedit, lacrimantem
et multa volentem dicere deseruit, tenuesque
recessit in auras.
51
Aeneid II Aeneas resignation can be seen in
the heavy syllables at the beginning of 792
793 he tries but it is in vain. The ghost
disappears and the rhythm becomes light like the
fleeting winds or like a dream. ter conatus ibi
collo dare bracchia circum 792 ter frustra
comprensa manus effugit imago, par levibus
ventis volucrique simillima somno.
52
Aeneid II Aeneas resignation can be seen in
the heavy syllables at the beginning of 792
793 he tries but it is in vain. The ghost
disappears and the rhythm becomes light like the
fleeting winds or like a dream. ter conatus ibi
collo dare bracchia circum 792 ter frustra
comprensa manus effugit imago, par levibus
ventis volucrique simillima somno. The heavy
spondees in the final line of our selection seems
to emphasise Aeneas dragging his feet and
spending the whole night looking for Creusa
before going back to his companions. sic demum
socios consumpta nocte reviso. 795
53
APPENDIX How do I know which vowels are long
and which are short? LONG ablative singular of
1st declension nouns a diphthongs eg ae, au,
oe any vowel when it is followed by 2 consonants
even if in the next word exceptions pl, br,
cr, tr final i, o, u es, os, as - (usually)
of nouns NB x double consonant qu
consonant h doesnt count at all i
sometimes consonant (eg the first one in
Iulius and iam) SHORT When there are 2 vowels
with separate sounds, the first one is short.
eg the u in puella, the i in resonantia
54

• How do I scan a Hexameter line? (6 feet either
  Spondee - - or Dactyl - u u)
• 1. Look for Elisions and mark them. A word
  ending in a vowel or -m loses its final
  syllable if the next word begins with a vowel -
  the two sounds are slurred together.
• 2. The 6th foot is either - - or - u so
  mark it - x
• 3. The 5th foot is always - u u
• The first part of the line must now be divided
  into 4 feet.
• Count the syllables (8 - 12) and work backwards,
  identifying known long and short vowels (Appendix
  1) and then fill in the gaps (much easier to do
  backwards!)
• Mark the Caesura in the middle of the 3rd or 4th
  foot.
• e.g. - - - u
  u - - - - - u u - x
• and a Pentameter? (5 feet either - - or
  - u u)
• remember that the second half of the line is
  always - u u - u u -
• mark a single heavy syllable just before the
  caesura.
• then there are two feet to work out in the first
  half of the line.
• e.g. - - - u u
  - - u u - u u -