Editing Dactylic hexameter (section)

== Structure ==

The most fundamental structure of dactylic hexameter poetry is a line{{r|clark2004|p=120}}. Lines are further divided into feet, and feet are divided into syllables{{r|clark2004|p=120}}.

=== Feet ===

A hexameter verse contains six [[Foot (prosody)|feet]]{{r|raven1962|p=43}}{{r|raven1965|p=90}}{{r|west1987|p=19}}. The first five feet can be either a [[dactyl (poetry)|dactyl]] or a [[spondee]]{{r|raven1962|p=43}}{{r|raven1965|p=91}}{{r|west1987|p=19}}. However, because Latin is much richer in long syllables than Greek, spondaic feet are more common in Latin hexameter{{r|raven1965|p=91}}. In both Greek and Latin hexameter the fifth feet is usually a dactyl, and a spondee is also rare in the third feet in Greek hexameter{{r|raven1965|p=43}}{{r|raven1965|p=91-92}}. The sixth foot can be filled by either a [[trochee]] or a spondee{{r|raven1962|p=43}}{{r|raven1965|p=91}}. Thus a dactylic hexameter line is [[scansion|scanned]] as follows:
: – <u>ᴗ ᴗ</u> | – <u>ᴗ ᴗ</u> | – <u>ᴗ ᴗ</u> | – <u>ᴗ ᴗ</u> | – <u>ᴗ ᴗ</u> | – x

An example of this in Latin is the first line of Virgil's ''Aeneid''{{r|aeneid|p=1.1}}:

:{{lang|la|arma virumque canō, Troiae quī prīmus ab ōrīs}}
:"I sing of arms, and of the man who first from the shores of Troy ..."

The scansion is generally marked as follows, by placing long and short marks above the central vowel of each syllable:

 –  u  u  |  –   u  u  |  –   –  |  –    – |   – u  u  | – –
 ar ma vi | rum que ca | nō Troj | jae quī | prī mu sa | bō rīs
  ''dactyl''  |   ''dactyl''   | ''spondee'' | ''spondee'' |  ''dactyl''   | ''spondee''

In dactylic verse, short syllables always come in pairs, so words such as {{lang|la|mīlitēs}} "soldiers" or {{lang|la|facilius}} "more easily" cannot be used in a hexameter{{cn|reason=This is true, no doubt about it. But it'd still be nice to have a source cited. Besides, where are Greek examples?|date=March 2025}}.

=== Syllables ===

Unlike English verse, which is based on stress, ancient Greek and Latin poetry is based on the length, i.e. relative duration, of a syllable{{r|clark2004|p=119}}{{r|raven1962|p=10}}{{r|raven1965|p=22}}. In scansion only the sounds are meaningful, and word boundaries do not matter{{r|clark2004|p=119}}{{r|west1987|p=12}}.

In Greek, a long syllable is {{lang|grc|συλλαβὴ μακρά}} ({{grc-transl|συλλαβὴ μακρά}}) and a short syllable is {{lang|grc|συλλαβὴ βραχεῖα}} ({{grc-transl|συλλαβὴ βραχεῖα}}).<ref>Liddell, Scott, Jones, ''Greek Lexicon'' s.v. [https://logeion.uchicago.edu/%CF%83%CF%85%CE%BB%CE%BB%CE%B1%CE%B2%CE%AE συλλαβή] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220511083430/https://logeion.uchicago.edu/%CF%83%CF%85%CE%BB%CE%BB%CE%B1%CE%B2%CE%AE |date=2022-05-11 }}.</ref> In Latin the terms are {{lang|la|syllaba longa}} and {{lang|la|syllaba brevis}}.<ref>Lewis and Short, ''Latin Dictionary'', s.v. [https://logeion.uchicago.edu/syllaba syllaba] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220511083430/https://logeion.uchicago.edu/syllaba |date=2022-05-11 }}.</ref>

==== Greek ====

In Greek a syllable is long if it contains a long vowel or a dipthong or two consonants follow the vowel(s) of the syllable{{r|allen1968|p=97}}{{r|clark2004|p=119}}{{r|raven1962|p=22}}. That is to say, a syllable with a short vowel is scanned as long if contains a long vowel or a dipthong or if it is closed; and a syllable is closed only if it ends with a consonant, otherwise it is open{{r|west1987|p=12}}.

For example, all syllables in {{lang|grc|μήτηρ}}, {{lang|grc|οἰκτείρω}}, and {{lang|grc|φλόξ}} are long{{r|raven1965|p=22-23}}. However, there are many exceptions to simple rules mentioned above{{r|raven1962|p=23}}, as a matter of fact too many to be listed here.

==== Latin ====

In Latin a syllable is long (by nature) if it contains a long vowel or a dipthong{{r|allen1965|p=89}}{{r|raven1965|p=23}} and long (by position) if it contains a short vowel followed by two consonants, even if these are in different words{{r|raven1965|p=24}}. For example, all syllables in {{lang|la|Ae-nē-ās}} and {{lang|la|au-rō}} are long by nature, whereas {{lang|la|et}}, {{lang|la|ter}}, {{lang|la|tot}}, and {{lang|la|vol}} in {{lang|la|<u>et</u> <u>ter</u>rīs}}, {{lang|la|<u>tot</u> <u>vol</u>-ve-re}} are long by position.

However, when a [[Liquid consonant|liquid]] -- l or r -- follows a [[plosive]], a syllable containing a short vowel may remain short by position{{r|raven1965|p=25}}. For example, {{lang|la|pa-trem}} could be scanned either as having a short first syllable {{lang|la|pa-trem}} or as having a long first syllable {{lang|la|pat-rem}}{{r|allen1965|p=89}}.

In scansion the letter ''h'' is ignored{{r|raven1965|p=24}}, and ''qu'' counts as a single consonant{{r|raven1965|p=24}}. So, for example in the phrase {{lang|la|et horret}} the syllable ''et'' remains short, and in the word {{lang|la|aqua}} the first syllable remains short too.

The semiconsonantal ''i'' and ''u'' are scanned as consonants{{r|raven1965|p=24}}. For example, in {{lang|la|Iuppiter}} and {{lang|la|iēcit}}, ''i'' is considered a consonant, pronounced like the English ''y''. Thus {{lang|la|Iup-pi-ter}} has three syllables and {{lang|la|iē-cit}} has two. But, in {{lang|la|I-ū-lius}} the first ''I'' is a vowel and forms a separate syllable{{r|allen1965|p=38}}. Additionally, an ''i'' between two or more vowels stands almost without exception for a double consonant{{r|allen1965|p=39}}; so, for example {{lang|la|a-io}}, standing for {{lang|la|a-iio}} has two syllables{{r|allen1965|p=39}}.

In some editions of Latin texts the consonant ''v'' is written as ''u'', in which case ''u'' is also often consonantal. This can sometimes cause ambiguity; e.g., in the word {{lang|la|uoluit}} (= {{lang|la|vol-vit}}) "he rolls" the second ''u'' is a consonant, but in {{lang|la|uoluit}} (= {{lang|la|vo-lu-it}}) "he wanted" the second ''u'' is a vowel.

===Elision===

In Latin, when a word ends in a vowel or -m and is followed by a word starting with a vowel or h, the last vowel is usually suppressed or [[Elision|elided]]{{r|raven1965|p=27}}. For example, {{lang|la|poss(e) Ītalia; Teucrōr(um) āvertere, monstr(um) horrendum}}{{r|raven1965|p=27}}.

In Greek, short vowels elide freely{{r|raven1962|p=24}}; however, long vowels are not elided, though they may be shortened in some cases{{r|raven1962|p=24}}: E.g. {{lang|grc|Πηληϊά<u>δεω</u> Ἀχιλῆος}} ({{grc-transl|Πηληϊά<u>δεω</u> Ἀχιλῆος}}).

In modern Greek writing the elision is shown by an apostrophe. For example:
{{blockquote
 |text=
   {{lang|grc|ἣ μυρί᾽ Ἀχαιοῖς ἄλγε᾽ ἔθηκε}}<br>
   {{grc-transl|ἣ μυρί᾽ Ἀχαιοῖς ἄλγε᾽ ἔθηκε}}<br>
   which caused countless sufferings for the Achaeans
 |author=[[Homer]]
 |title=Iliad, 1.2
}}

The Greek style of not eliding a long vowel is sometimes imitated in Latin for special effect, for example, {{lang|la|fēmine<u>ō u</u>lulātu}} "with womanly wailing" (''Aen''. 9.477){{cn|reason=Raven (1965) p. 101 says nothing of the sort, the §74 describing Greek imitations talks about the line-ending, not elision, giving as an example Aeneid 4.215.|date=March 2025}}.<ref>Raven (1965), p. 101.</ref>

When a vowel is elided, it does not count in the scansion{{r|raven1962|p=24}}. So, for the purposes of scansion, {{lang|la|Iu-n(o) ae-ter-num}} has four syllables.

=== Caesura ===

[[caesura|Caesura]] is a word break in the middle of a foot or metron{{r|raven1962|p=25}}. In Greek hexameter there must be a caesura after i) the first syllable of the 3rd foot, a strong or masculine caesura, ii) the second syllable of a dactyl in the 3rd foot, a weak or feminine caesura, or iii) the first syllable of the 4th foot{{r|raven1962|p=44}}; the first two being much more common than the last{{r|clark2004|p=121}}{{r|raven1962|p=44}}{{r|raven1965|p=93}}.
In Latin hexameter the weak caesura is rarer than in Greek hexameter{{r|raven1965|p=94,96}}. On the one hand, in Virgil the strong caesura is found in ca. 85% of the time{{r|butcher1914|p=124}}.

An example of a weak caesura can be found from the first line of Homer's ''[[Odyssey]]''{{r|raven1962|p=44}}:

:{{lang|grc|ἄνδρα μοι / ἔννεπε, / <u>μοῦσα</u>, πο/λύτροπον, / ὃς μάλα / πολλὰ}}
:{{grc-transl|ἄνδρα μοι / ἔννεπε, / <u>μοῦσα</u>, πο/λύτροπον, / ὃς μάλα / πολλὰ}}
:"Tell me, Muse, of the man of many wiles, who very much"

And an example of a strong caesura follows on the next line of Odyssey{{r|raven1962|p=44}}:
:{{lang|grc|πλάγχθη, ἐ/πεὶ Τροί/ης ἱερ/ὸν πτολί/εθρον ἔ/περσεν:}}
:{{grc-transl|λάγχθη, ἐ/πεὶ Τροί/ης ἱερ/ὸν πτολί/εθρον ἔ/περσεν:}}
:"wandered, after having sacked the sacred citadel of Troy."

In Latin (but not in Greek, as the above example shows), a feminine caesura in the 3rd foot is usually accompanied with masculine caesuras in the 2nd and especially in the 4th feet{{r|raven1965|p=96}}:

:{{lang|la|infan/dum, re/<u>gina</u>, iu/bes reno/vare do/lorem}}{{r|aeneid|p=2.3}}
:"You are bidding me, o queen, to renew an unspeakable sorrow"

Sometimes caesuras in the 2nd and 4th feet of a line make do, and there is no caesura in the 3rd foot{{r|raven1965|p=96}}. For example:

:{{lang|la|inde to/ro pater / Aene/as sic / orsus ab / alto}}{{r|aeneid|p=2.2}}
:"then from his high couch Father Aeneas began as follows"