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| Hendecasyllables or Phalaecian |
| The hendecasyllabic meter is one of the many lyric meters the Roman poets used and
is commonly found in the works of Catullus (43 out of the first 60).
It was called the Phalaecian after the fourth century poet Phalaecus,
but Catullus calls them hendecasyllabos in 12.10 and
elsewhere. This name comes from the fact that there are
11 syllables in each line. In contrast to the formal dactylic hexameter, the iambs which finish the line
create a more colloquial feel that invokes imagery of the people
rambling about in the city.
The meter consists of five feet, typically made by
1) an iamb, trochee or sometimes a spondee
2) a dactyl
3) a trochee
4) a trochee
5) a stop |
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˘ ¯ | ¯ ˘ ˘
| ¯ ˘ | ¯ ˘ | ¯ X |
| or |
¯ ˘ | ¯ ˘ ˘
| ¯ ˘ | ¯ ˘ | ¯ X |
| or |
¯ ¯ | ¯ ˘ ˘ |
¯ ˘ | ¯ ˘ | ¯ X |
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Cuī donō lepidum novum libellum
ārida modo pūmice expolītum?
Cornēlī, tibi: namque tū solēbās
meās esse aliquid putāre nugās - Catullus 1.1-4 |
| redi |
| The Elegiac Couplet |
The elegiac couplet was named after the meter
used by the Archaic Greek elegiac poets and Hellenistic epigrammatists.
It is one of Catullus' favorite meters, and he uses it in
poems 65-116. The meter consists of one dactylic hexameter
line balanced with a pentameter made up of two sets of dactyls
on either side of a diaeresis. This diaeresis is overshadowed
by an elision in only 18 of 323 lines in Catullus, so it is
possible but highly uncommon. There is no possibility of substitution
in the last two dactyls of the pentameter.
Ovid is also very fond of the elegiac couplet and uses this
meter in the Amores. The variation of elegiac couplets
which we see in Catullus is not mimicked in the Amores
giving a quicker speed to Ovid's lines. The couplet aspect
of his poetry is emphasized by the self containment of the
lines both in meter and in the ideas he was trying to express. |
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¯ ˘ ˘ | ¯ ˘
˘ | ¯ ˘ ˘ | ¯ ˘ ˘ |
¯ ˘ ˘ | ¯ ¯ |
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¯ ˘ ˘ | ¯ ˘
˘ | ¯ | ¯ ˘ ˘ | ¯ ˘ ˘
| ¯ |
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Sī quicquam mūtīs grātum acceptumque
sepulcrīs
accidere ā nostrō, Calve, dolōre potest,
quō desideriō veterēs renovāmus amōrēs
atque ōlim missās flēmus amicitiās,
certē nōn tantō mors immātūra dolōrī
est
Quīntiliae, quantum gaudet amōre tuō. Catullus
96 |
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Arma gravī numerō violentaque bella
parābam
ēdere, māteriā conveniente modīs.
pār erat īnferior versus—rīsisse Cūpidō
dīcitur atque ūnum surripuisse pedem. Ovid Amores
I.1 |
| redi |
| Sapphic Strophe |
| The Sapphic strophe is named after the sixth century
B.C. female poet Sappho from the island of Lesbos. Catullus
uses this meter in poems 11 and 51, which appear to be among
the last and first ones that he writes about her. It is a lyrical
meter and consists of three identical lines followed by what
is called an adonic, giving the line a sense of closure based
on its rhythmical similarities to the end of a hexameter. The
first two lines typically contain a caesura, which is a definite
break in the third foot around the middle of the line. |
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¯ ˘ | ¯ ¯ | ¯ ||
˘ ˘ | ¯ ˘ | ¯ ¯ |
| or |
¯ ˘ | ¯ ˘ |
¯ || ˘ ˘ | ¯ ˘ | ¯ ˘ |
| and ending with |
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¯ ˘ ˘ ¯ | X |
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Fūrī et Aurēlī comitēs
Catullī,
sīve in extrēmōs penetrābit Indōs,
lītus ut longē resonante Eōā
tunditur undā, Catullus 11.1-4 |
| redi |
| Limping Iambs or Choliambics
or Scazons |
| Limping iambics were invented by the Greek
poet Hipponax in the sixth century B.C. and are generally
associated with satirical themes. When Catullus uses the meter
seven times, he uses it against himself in 8, against Suffenus
in 22, Egnatius in 39, Sestius in 44, Rufa in 59, Lesbia in
60, and once just as an expression of joy in 31.
Limping iambs are also referred to as choliambics and scazons
and consist of five iambs and a trochee. Spondees are typically
substituted either in the first or third foot, but they might
be found elsewhere so keep your eyes peeled. The prose accent
of the Latin gives this meter a conversational quality with
the emphasis on the last foot. |
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¯ ¯ | ˘ ¯ | ¯ ¯
|˘ ¯ | ˘ ¯ | ¯ X |
| or |
˘ ¯ |˘ ¯ |
¯ ¯ | ˘ ¯ | ¯ X |
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Miser Catulle, dēsinās ineptīre,
et quod vidēs perisse perditum dūcās.
fulsēre quondam candidī tibi sōlēs,
cum ventitābās quō puella dūcēbat
amāta nōbis quantum amābitur nulla. Catullus
8.1-5 |
| redi |
| Dactylic Hexameter |
The dactylic hexameter is the meter of epic,
didactic and pastoral poetry. It was used by Homer, Hesiod,
Apollonius, and many other Greek poets before being adopted
by the Romans for their own epics and other poetry including
satire. The first four feet can be any combination of dactyls
(| ¯ ˘ ˘ |) and spondees (| ¯ ¯ |).
The fifth foot is typically a dactyl, but infrequently a spondee
appears. The final foot can be either a trochee (| ¯
˘ |) or a spondee (| ¯ ¯ |), but should
generally be considered a spondee by the rule of syllaba
anceps (the fact that there is a pause at the end of
each verse).
When the line is full of spondees, the vowels should take
more time to pronounce and thus give the line a slower feel.
When the syllable is made of dactyls, the speed of pronouncing
the ˘ ˘ short syllables makes the line move more
quickly. It can be considered a rapid and flexible meter since
it is able to use dactyls and spondees, but the sound is still
of a more sophisticated speech.
This is the meter of Vergil's Aeneid and Ovid's
Metamorphoses. Catullus uses the meter in only 62
and 64, but this style of line is also the beginning of every
elegiac couplet which includes Ovid's Amores and
Catullus 65-116. |
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¯ ˘ ˘ | ¯ ˘
˘ | ¯ ˘ ˘ | ¯ ˘ ˘ |
¯ ˘ ˘ | ¯ ¯ |
| or |
¯ ¯ | ¯ ¯ | ¯ ¯ |
¯ ¯ | ¯ ¯ | ¯ ¯ |
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Namque fluentisono prospectans litore Diae,
Thesea cedentem celeri cum classe tuetur
indomitos in corde gerens Ariadna furores,
necdum etiam sese quae visit visere credit,
utpote fallaci quae tum primum excita somno
desertam in sola miseram se cernat harena. Catullus 64.52-57 |
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Sīc fātur lacrimāns, classīque
immittit habēnās
et tandem Euboicīs Cūmārum adlābitur ōrīs.
Obvertunt pelagō prōrās; tum dente tenācī
ancora fundābat nāvēs et lītora curvae
praetexunt puppēs. Iuvenum manus ēmicat ārdēns
lītus in Hesperium; quaerit pars sēmina flammae
abstrūsa in vēnīs silicis, pars dēnsa ferārum
tēcta rapit silvās inventaque flūmina mōnstrat.
Vergil Aeneid 6.1-8 |
| redi |
| The Greater Asclepiadean |
| Named after the third century B.C. epigrammatist
Asclepiades of Samos, the Greater Asclepiadean meter was used
as far back as the sixth cent. B.C. by both Sappho and Alcaius.
It typically consists of a 16-syllable line built around three
choriambs, with a possible pause between each. There are no
substitutions or resolutions—so don’t get anxious about looking
for alternatives. Catullus uses this meter in Carmen 30 only. |
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¯ ¯ | ¯ ˘ ˘ ¯ ||
¯ ˘ ˘ ¯ || ¯ ˘ ˘ ¯ | ˘
X |
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Alfene immemor atque unanimis false sodalibus,
iam te nil miseret, dure, tui dulcis amiculi?
iam me prodere, iam non dubitas fallere, perfide?
nec facta impia fallacum hominum caelicolis placent. Catullus
30.1-4 |
| redi |
| Iambic Senarius or Trimeter |
| Iambic senarius is a pure form of the iambic trimeter
composed of six iambs. It appears only in Catullus 4 and 29.
In Carmen 52, Catullus also uses the iambic trimeter, but
not a pure form. In this version there is a caesura in the middle
of the third foot and spondees may be substituted in the first
and third feet. |
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˘ ¯ |˘ ¯ |˘
¯ |˘ ¯ |˘ ¯ |˘ X |
| or |
¯ ¯ |˘ ¯ | ¯||¯
| ˘ ¯ |˘ ¯ |˘ X |
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Phaselus ille, quem videtis, hospites,
ait fuisse navium celerrimus,
neque ullius natantis impetum trabis
nequisse praeterire, sive palmulis
opus foret volare sive linteo. - Catullus 4.1-5 |
| redi |
| Alcaic |
| A favorite meter of Horace named after Alcaius
of Lesbos who wrote Greek poetry during the sixth century B.C.
using this meter. Sappho, another poet from Lesbos, also used
the meter. |
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¯ | ¯ ˘ | ¯ ¯ |
¯ ˘ ˘ | ¯ ˘ | ¯ |
| or |
¯ | ¯ ˘ | ¯ ¯ |
¯ ˘ ˘ | ¯ ¯ | ¯ twice |
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¯ | ¯ ˘ | ¯ ¯ |
¯ ˘ | ¯ ˘ |
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or |
¯ | ¯ ˘ | ¯ ¯ |
¯ ˘ | ¯ ¯ |
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¯ ˘ ˘ | ¯ ˘
˘ | ¯ ˘ | ¯ ˘ |
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or |
¯ ˘ ˘ | ¯ ˘ ˘ |
¯ ˘ | ¯ ¯ |
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Vides ut alta stet nive candidum
Soracte nec iam sustineant onus
silvae laborantes geluque
flumina constiterint acuto?
Dissolue frigus ligna super foco
large reponens atque benignius
deprome quadrimum Sabina,
o Thaliarche, merum diota. Horace, Carmina 1.9.1-8 |
| redi |
| Hexametrica
- a tutorial designed to provide a basic understanding of the
most common poetic meter, the dactylic hexameter. |
