defunct @the-dashbetween - Tumblr Blog

1. we're not in love, but I'll make love to you. 2. we didn't give a fuck back then, I ain't a kid no more, we'll never be those kids again. 3. if you could fly then you'd feel south, up north's getting cold soon. 5. now we outside and the timing's perfect, forgot to tell you, gotta tell you how much I vibe with you. 7. now and then you miss it, sounds make you cry, some nights you dance with, tears in your eyes. 8. i, first time i done saw you, you text nothing like you look.

twotheleft

purpleheartrainman

Rex Orange County | Pluto Projector

chrrispine

Can’t you see? This is bigger than our experience.

ancient-notes

How to Scan a Hexameter

Cause I have to know it and I don’t like it.

Syllable Length (Prosody)

By nature - long vowel or diphthong ae, au, oe

By position - followed by two or more consonants, which can be part of different words

Fun things about letters

Muta cum Liquida - two consonants: a stop (muta) p, t, c, b, d, g, followed by a liquid l, r can be short or long

x and z count as two consonants cause they come from c+s and d+z

qu counts as one consonant, no vowel

h gets ignored at the beginning of a word

i followed by another vowel is like a “j” so it’s a consonant, not a vowel

eu is a diphthong in Greek names but not in Latin words

when there are two vowels next to each other but not a diphthong, the first one is probably short, but it’s not a hard rule

some vowel combinations can be diphthongs but aren’t if one is part of the words stem and the second one is part of the ending!

Elision -vowel(m) vowel-

a word ending on a vowel (and maybe an m) followed by a word starting with a vowel (ignore h)

the vowel (+m) is elided - not pronounced

Hiatus a variation of this, where both words keep their natural length; is avoided

Dactylic Hexameter

If you can’t remember how this is supposed to look: –⏕ | –⏕ | –⏕ | –⏕ | –⏑⏑ | –X

hex means six, so you need six metrical feet

one foot is either a Dactyl or a Spondee

Dactyl means finger. Look at your left index finger:

long, short, short - Dactyl

two short feet can be substituted by a long foot –> Spondee

the sixth foot has two syllables (trochee) and the last one is long-short (anceps) often marked with an x above

the fifth foot is a Dactyl 90% of the time

Caesura

It’s a break after the first long syllable in a foot, most likely the first, second or third foot. It’s often in form of the end of a word, clause, sentence or another pause of speech.

Tips & Tricks

count. your. feet. there should be six, if there aren’t start again

mark with a pencil so you can erase

mark the obvious stuff: lengths, Elisions, Muta cum Liquida, the second to last syllable being long etc.

then work from the back. I mean it. Work from the back. You know the most stuff about the end of the verse, take advantage of it.

the sixth foot is long and an Anceps, the fifth is most likely a Dactyl

if there are two long syllables with a single syllable between there is Spondee somewhere here

the shorter the verse, the more Spondees

A note on reading out loud: marking the first, stressed syllable of each foot only and clearly. I do it with a highlighter and it really helps to focus.