dactylic hexameter. what is meter? meter = rhythm –a combination of short and long syllables in...
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Dactylic Hexameter
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What is Meter?
• Meter = Rhythm– A combination of short and long syllables
• In Latin poetry…– Authors wrote words following a specific pattern
of rhythm, or meter.
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Why might rhythm be important?
• Music– Compare reading the lyrics to their usual
performance:
Lyrics to something rhythmic (Dr. Huskey uses Eminem) read. Insert clip of actual song. Point out natural rhythm; it’s part of the song. It’s a subtle, but still infinitely important, part of the presentation.
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Meter
• Meter comprised of FEET– Metron = Greek for foot– The idea was that the words march through the
ears like feet
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Feet
• Feet comprised of short (ں) and/or long (–) syllables• Some of the different feet
– Dactyl (– ں ں )
– Spondee (– –)
– Iamb (ں –)
– Trochee (– ں)
– Choriamb (– ں ں –)
• But we only need the first two today: Dactyl and Spondee
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Dactyl
• Dactyl loooong-short-short or “dum diddy”• Dactyl = Greek for Finger
– Looks like the joints of a finger
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Spondee
• Spondee looong-looong or “dum dum”
• Sponde = Greek for libations– Libations = ceremonial drink
offering
– Songs for libations composed with “dum dum” rhythm spondee foot
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Dactylic Hexameter
• Dactyl = Finger
• Metron = Foot
• Hexa = Six
So…..
Dactylic Hexameter = 6 Finger-like Feet
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Dactylic Hexameter
• In a perfect world, every foot would be a dactyl except the last one
• But the world isn’t perfect, so…
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Dactylic Hexameter
• Authors use Spondees too• General Rules
– Last syllable always long
– 5th foot almost always a dactyl
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Example
Primus amor Phoebi Daphne Peneia, quem non
fors ignara dedit, sed saeva Cupidinis ira,
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Example
Delius hunc nuper, victa serpente superbus,
viderat adducto flectentem cornua nervo
'quid' que 'tibi, lascive puer, cum fortibus armis?'
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Example
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How do you know if a syllable is short or long?
• To determine if a syllable is long or short, look at two things:– Nature of the word
• Case, Number, Usage (adverb, adjective, etc.)
– Position of the word• What comes before or after
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Nature• Here are some general rules for select vowels and syllables:• A final -o, -i, or -u is usually long by nature.
– common exception: the final -i in tibi and mihi, which may be either short or long as the meter requires. (The first -i- in both words is always short.)
• A final -ās, -ēs, or -ōs is usually long by nature. – common exceptions: Greek proper names and other Greek words taken directly into
Latin.• A final -a or -is is often short by nature.
– common exceptions: -a in the first declension ablative singular is always long, as is -is in the first and second declensions ablative / dative plural.
• A final -e is usually short by nature. – common exceptions: -e in the fifth declension ablative singular; -e on adverbs formed
from second declension adjectives. • A final -us is usually short by nature.
– common exceptions: fourth declension genitive singular, and nominative / accusative plural (but not fourth declension nominative singular).
• A final -am, -em, or -um is always short by nature.
http://www.skidmore.edu/academics/classics/courses/metrica/nature.html
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Position• A vowel is considered long by position when directly followed by two consonants, whether
in the same word or beginning the subsequent word. – For instance, if the nominative nauta immediately precedes the verb scit, the final -a becomes long
for the purpose of filling out the meter: nautâ scit. (The word is still nominative, of course.) • This rule is not ironclad, as certain consonant combinations—like -cr, -pr, and -tr—will not
always "make position."• Some important points:
– The consonant -h- is not usually considered a full consonant, and will not cause a vowel to make position. For instance, in the phrase tenet haec ("she understands these things"), the syllable -et in tenet is short, not long.
– The consonants -x- and -z- make position all by themselves, since they are actually double consonants (-ks- and -ds-, respectively).
– The combination -qu-, which is pronounced -kw-, just as in English, is treated as a single consonant, and never makes position. Furthermore, the -u- never receives a long or short mark during scansion, as is the practice for consonants.
– The vowel -i- is sometimes considered a consonant, usually when it begins a word and is followed by a vowel. In such cases, e.g. Iuno, the -i- is pronounced as an English -y- (which, recall, is likewise sometimes a vowel, sometimes a consonant). A good rule of thumb is to find a derivative from the word in question: if the -i- becomes a -j- in English (e.g. Juno > Iuno), then it is a consonant, and may help another word make position. Furthermore, the -i- in question should not receive a long or a short mark.
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Syllabification
• Syllables are usually divided between a vowel and a single consonant: vi-rum, not vir-um.
• When a vowel is followed by two consonants in the same word, the divison comes between the consonants: ar-ma, not arm-a or a-rma.– Exception: When a vowel is followed by a stop (a
consonant formed by complete air blockage, e.g. t, d, p, b, k, g) plus a liquid (a consonant that can be prolonged, e.g. l or r).
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Elision
• A final syllable ending in a vowel may be omitted from the meter before a word beginning with a vowel (or an h-). – EXAMPLE: nauta est is three syllables. Because est
begins, and nauta ends, with a vowel, the final -a is elided or "knocked out," leaving two syllables: nauta est (pronounced "now test").
• A final syllable ending in the letter -m may be omitted from the meter before a word beginning with a vowel (or an h-).– EXAMPLE: nautam est becomes nautam est ("now test").
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Why bother scanning for meter?
• Rhythm adds nuance– Quick lines versus slow lines
• Lost in Translating– Don’t know what’s going on? Often times the
meter will help you realize something that is the key to getting yourself out of a translation corner.
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Example