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SCANSION

SCANSION. Breaking down meter…. Meter. Meter ( Latin: metrum, -i n. measure) is like the time signature in written music. It tells us how many feet (beats) or units (measures) of rhythm there are in the line The rhythm centers on whether or not the vowels in the line are long or short.

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SCANSION

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  1. SCANSION Breaking down meter…

  2. Meter • Meter(Latin: metrum, -i n. measure) is like the time signature in written music. It tells us how many feet (beats) or units (measures) of rhythm there are in the line • The rhythm centers on whether or not the vowels in the line are long or short

  3. Long v. Short • Long vowels have a macron above • Short vowels have the breve mark above them

  4. Quantity of Vowels • LONG by NATURE • The vowel has a long mark on it naturally. • A dictionary is helpful for figuring this out if you are stuck • There is a diphthong: ae, oe, ei, ui, au, eu • These letter combinations are marked as one syllable, not two because they make only one sound.

  5. Quantity of Vowels • LONG by POSITION • If the vowel is followed by a double consonant combination, the vowel is marked long I know it seems simplistic, but if the vowel is not long, that’s how we know it is short!

  6. Elision • Elision acts like a slur does in music. It causes you to blend two syllables together that would ordinarily be separate in prose • Word ends with a vowel, dipthong, or M is followed by a word starting with a vowel or H • Take off the first vowel, dipthong, or M

  7. Elision • Example: • Multum ille = multille • Exceptions: If a word ends with an M is followed by EST, the “e” of est is elided instead of the M • Example: multum est = multumst

  8. HIATUS • Rare instance in which a word ending in a vowel and starts with an H does NOT elide • Easy to recognize because the meterical requirements do not allow the elision to actually occur

  9. Idiosyncrasies • Some vowels don’t count for scansion… • “qu” = one letter, the “u” is not scanned • Example: nequiquam has 3 vowels to scan • “gu” = one letter, the “u” is not scanned • Example: sanguinis has 3 vowels to scan • Liquid consonants: l and r • MIGHT be considered either a double or single consonant--try it out and see!

  10. Idiosyncrasies • The letters x and z • Double consonants • The letter y • Always a vowel

  11. Dactyl v. Spondee • Dactyl - has one long vowel and two short • Spondee- has two long vowels

  12. Syllable Division • A single consonant is pronounced with the following vowel • Example: divinum = di/vi/num • Two or more consonants between vowels, the first is pronounced with the preceding vowel and the remaining consonants with the following vowel • Example: transferro = trans/fer/ro • Compound words are divided according to their components • Example: abest = ab/est

  13. To Scan a Line…Let’s look at BOOK 1, Line 1. • Look to see if there are any elisions. • Determine the final two syllables and mark them appropriately. (spondaic) • Indicate the last food with the metrical marker / /. • Mark the 5th foot appropriately and indicate the foot markers. (dactylic)

  14. BOOK I, LINE 1 • Mark the first syllable of the line LONG. • Mark all syllables that are long by nature (dipthongs, etc.) • Determine which syllables are long by position (followed by 2 consonants or x/z) • Mark the remaining syllables short. • Divide the rest of the line into feet (using the rules of syllable division)--each foot must contain a dactyl or spondee. • Count the feet to make sure you have six!

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