The Scansion of Poetry - Review

Scansion means to take a line of Latin and determine its meter. To do this, we must determine the length of each syllable, which we then divide into groups called feet. The process may seem complicated at first, but practice it enough and it does get easier! A mistake will be fairly obvious when working with dactylic hexameter because you will have some foot other than a dactyl or spondee, or leftover syllables. Check for elision - that's often the cause of a mistake in scansion!

Download Handout

Please download the Ovid: The Poet Grammar - Scansion Handout. Fully complete this handout before continuing in the course. Be sure to contact your instructor for any additional help with the content.

Why Do We Learn Scansion?

By learning to properly scan a line of poetry, you are learning how the poet intended their words to be read and heard. The poems that we will be reading in this course were not spoken in monotone or read like a speech: rather they were sung. And when singing a song, you need to have the meter (or rhythm) of the piece right for it to sound good. That's why we scan - so that we can know what the song was supposed to sound like!

Additionally, Latin poets often used the meter of their line to mirror a particular emotion. A series of dactyls (long, short, short) made for a very rapid read, and so often accompanied images of motion or excitement. Meanwhile, a series of spondees (long, long) would be used for more lugubrious moments, when the mood was quieter, sadder, or more serious. We can use scansion to get a glimpse into the meaning of the line, even before working out what the Latin means, just like the beat or rhythm of a song on the radio often gives you an idea of what kind of song it is, even before hearing the lyrics.

Practice Activity

Check your ability to scan lines of poetry by completing this review. You'll see each of the lines of poetry twice. The first time, you will be asked to determine the correct scansion using symbols (– and u). The second time, you will be asked to determine the correct names of each foot.

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