Scansion Trainer | CertamenBot

– ∪ ∪

Dactyl

– –

Spondee

( )

Elision

‖

Caesura

–

Long by Nature

Long by Position

∪

Short

Six Feet

How to Scan Dactylic Hexameter

A step-by-step guide to reading and marking Latin hexameter, from identifying syllable lengths through finding the caesura and checking your work.

Step 1: Mark every syllable long or short

A syllable is long (–) or short (∪). There are exactly two ways a syllable becomes long:

Long by Nature

A syllable is long by nature when it contains a diphthong (ae, au, oe, eu, ei, ui, see Advanced Rules for the full details) or a long vowel (ā, ē, ī, ō, ū). The best way to verify whether a vowel is long by nature is to look it up in a Latin dictionary such as Logeion, which marks long vowels in every entry.

Long by Position

A syllable is long by position when its vowel is followed by two or more consonants, regardless of whether the vowel itself is long or short. These consonants can be split across a word boundary, the cluster still creates length in the preceding syllable.

Example: In hic mīles, the syllable hic is long by position because c (end of hic) and m (start of mīles) form a two-consonant cluster after the vowel.

Special consonant rules

x (= c + s) and z (= d + s) each count as two consonants, so any vowel before them is long by position.
Example: dux, the u is long by position.

h is a mere breathing mark, not a real consonant. Ignore it completely when counting consonants.
Example: ad hoc, only one consonant (d) separates the vowels; ad is short.

qu is a single sound; the u in qu is not a vowel.
equus = 2 syllables (e-quus); the first syllable e- is short.
linquere = 3 syllables (lin-que-re); li- is long by position (n + qu).

i before a vowel (especially at the start of a word, e.g., Iuppiter) is a consonant (= j), not a vowel. In all other positions it is a vowel. Your dictionary will show the distinction.

Muta cum liquida: when a stop (p t c b d g) is immediately followed by a liquid (l r), the preceding syllable may be treated as either long or short at the poet's discretion. Virgil exploits this constantly. If your line is one syllable too long or short, check your muta cum liquida syllables first.

Step 2: Apply Elision

Elision occurs when a word ends in a vowel (or vowel + m) and the next word begins with a vowel or h. The ending syllable is swallowed, it does not count in the meter.

Pattern: word ending in vowel / vowel+m + word beginning in vowel / h

quoque et → quoqu(e) et
multum ille → mult(um) ille
atque hominum → atqu(e) hominum, h does not block elision
animam hanc → anim(am) hanc

Hiatus: on rare occasions the elision is deliberately skipped and both syllables count. This is always intentional and used for special effect.

Step 3: Build the Six Feet

A hexameter line has exactly six feet. Each foot is either a dactyl (– ∪ ∪) or a spondee (– –).

– ∪ ∪ dactyl – – spondee

Foot 5 is almost always a dactyl, a spondee in foot 5 is a deliberate stylistic choice for heaviness or solemnity.

Foot 6 is always a spondee (or trochee – ∪, treated as equivalent). The final syllable is anceps, it counts as long regardless of its natural quantity.

Step 4: Find the Caesura

The caesura is a word-end that falls in the middle of a foot, a natural breath-pause within the line. Look for it at:

Penthemimeral (most common), after the 5th half-foot, i.e., in the middle of foot 3: – ∪ ∪ | – ∪ ∪ | – ‖ ∪ ∪ | …

Trithemimeral: after the 3rd half-foot, in the middle of foot 2.

Hephthemimeral: after the 7th half-foot, in the middle of foot 4.

If your word boundaries all coincide with foot boundaries, especially at the end of foot 2 or foot 3, your scansion is almost certainly wrong. A proper line always has the caesura cutting through at least one foot.

Three Checks When Something Is Wrong

1. Count the feet. You must get exactly six. Too many → change some longs to shorts. Too few → change some shorts to longs.

2. Check elisions. The most-missed: a word ending in -m before a word beginning with a vowel or h.

3. Check the two-consonant rule. A vowel before two consonants is always long by position, make sure you haven't missed a cluster, especially across word boundaries.

Advanced Rules

Beyond the basics, special cases, Greek forms, poetic licenses, and rhetorical effects.

Spondaic Verses (Holodactylic & Spondeiazon)

A spondaic verse (spondeiazon) is a hexameter line in which foot 5 is a spondee rather than the expected dactyl. This creates a slow, heavy movement used to suggest grief, weight, or grandeur. It is common in Virgil when describing the Underworld or moments of solemnity.

The opposite, a holodactylic line, has five dactyls (feet 1–5 all dactylic) and feels rapid and light, rare but used for rushing action.

Elision Across Lines (Synapheia)

In lyric meters (and occasionally in Plautus) elision can run from the end of one line to the beginning of the next. This is very rare in hexameter but worth knowing for broader metrical study.

Greek Proper Nouns

Greek names frequently use Greek quantity patterns rather than Latin ones. When scanning Greek proper nouns, check a dictionary (especially the Greek form):

Greek accusatives in -a (e.g., Aenean, Anchisen), the final -a is long.
Greek genitives plural in -ōn: long by nature.
Greek nominatives in -ēs or -ōs: long by nature.
Greek vocatives in -ā: long (e.g., Aenēā).

Diphthongs: Complete Rules

A diphthong is two vowels that blend into one syllable and always count as one long syllable. The standard Latin diphthongs are:

ae: caelum, Aeneas, pugnae
au: aurum, causa, laudat
oe: poena, proelium, moenia
eu: only in interjections and particles: heu, neu, seu, ceu, heus, eheu; rare elsewhere
ei: very rare; mainly eia (exclamation) and hei
ui: only in cui and huic; these two words specifically

eu in Greek names: in Greek loanwords eu is a diphthong: Orpheus = Or-pheus (2 syllables), Theseus = The-seus (2 syllables).

ui outside cui/huic is never a diphthong. fui, frui, fluit, always two syllables each. The cui/huic exception is specific and memorized, not a general rule.

Two vowels that are never a diphthong:
• ii: always two syllables (filii = fi-li-i)
• any vowel pair where the first carries a diaeresis (ë, ï), see below

Diaeresis (Breaking a Diphthong)

Two dots over a vowel (ë, ï) signal that what looks like a diphthong is actually two separate syllables. aër = a-er (2 syllables), Troïa = Tro-i-a (3 syllables). If you see the dots, always split. Without the dots, ae/oe/au are diphthongs by default.

Synizesis (Collapsing Two Vowels into One)

Synizesis is the opposite of diaeresis: two adjacent vowels inside a word that look separate are collapsed into one syllable by the poet for metrical fit. Common cases:

deinde (normally 3 syllables) → scanned as 2 syllables (dein-de)
dein, dehinc → 1 syllable
eodem, eadem → first two vowels collapsed
Greek names in -eus/-eia/-oia → treated as synizesis, not hiatus

If you are one syllable over on a line, look for adjacent vowels inside a word, one of them may be a synizesis candidate.

Two Vowels Across a Word Boundary

When two vowels meet at a word boundary (end of one word, start of the next), this is not a diphthong question: it is an elision or hiatus question:

Elision: the first vowel (or vowel + m) is normally swallowed. See the How to Scan section above.
Hiatus: the poet deliberately skips the elision and both vowels stand. The first is often shortened in the process (correptio in hiatu). Always treat hiatus as intentional before calling it an error.

Systole and Diastole

Systole: a naturally long syllable is treated as short because the meter demands it. Uncommon and always contextual.

Diastole: a naturally short syllable is treated as long. This happens most often before a strong metrical ictus or at the beginning of a foot. Lengthened short syllables almost always appear at the start of a foot or before the main caesura.

Prodelision (Aphaeresis)

The reverse of standard elision: when a word beginning with est or es follows a word ending in a vowel or diphthong, the initial e of est/es is elided rather than the preceding vowel. Example: bonast for bona est. This is primarily a feature of archaic and comedic Latin but can appear in poetic contexts.

Intentional Hiatus

When elision would be expected but the poet lets both syllables stand, this is hiatus. Virgil uses it deliberately for:
• Greek proper names whose initial vowel should be audible
• Emotional pauses or archaic solemnity
• Lines imitating Ennius or early Latin poetry

Always consider hiatus intentional before assuming a scanning error.

Lengthening Before the Caesura

A short syllable that stands immediately before the main caesura may be lengthened in practice, even without a formal two-consonant cluster. This is a recognized metrical license, especially at the penthemimeral caesura (the break in foot 3).

Brevis Brevians (Iambic Shortening)

In early Latin (Plautus, Ennius), and occasionally in later poets for archaic effect, a long syllable may be shortened when it is preceded by a short syllable and followed by a stressed syllable. The most familiar form is in words like volō → vŏlō or bonō → bŏnō in comic verse. It is rare in classical hexameter but worth recognizing.

Automatic Scanner

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Scansion Generator

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