2. Vowels followed by i (consonant) are long, as ēia; bĭ-iugus, quadrĭ-igus are exceptions.
3. Syllables in which contraction has taken place are long: as cōgo for cŏăgo.
4. Compounds and derived words usually keep the quantity of theit simples, as cădo, accĭdo, căducus. But there are many exceptions. ǁ
Verses.
§ 449. Verses are divided into Feet, each containing two or more syllables.
The foot ¯ ˘ ˘ is called a Dactyl ; the foot ¯ ¯a Spondee. The foot may be compared to a bar of music : the Dactyl being the metrical equivalent of the bar 𝄀 𝅗𝅥 𝅘𝅥 𝅘𝅥 𝄀 the Spondee of the bar 𝄀 𝅗𝅥 𝅗𝅥 𝄀
These feet are equal in quantity.
The other feet most usually employed are the Iambus ˘ ¯ , the Trochee ¯ ˘ , the Anapaest ˘ ˘ ¯ , the Choriambus ¯ ˘ ˘ ¯.
§ 450. The kinds of verses most used are the Dactylic Hexameter and the Dactylic Pentameter.
The Hexameter consists of Six Feet; of which the last is a Spondee, the fifth a Dactyl (rarely a Spondee). The rest may be either Dactyls or Spondees. Thus:
| ¯ ˘ ˘ | ¯ ˘ ˘ | ¯ ˘ ˘ | ¯ ˘ ˘ | ¯ ˘ ˘ | ¯ ¯ |
| ¯ ¯ | ¯ ¯ | ¯ ¯ | ¯ ¯ |
The Pentameter is constructed thus :
| ¯ ˘ ˘ | ¯ ˘ ˘ | ¯ | ¯ ˘ ˘ | ¯ ˘ ˘ | ¯ |
| ¯ ¯ | ¯ ¯ |
The metrical pause 𝄁 always coincides with the end of a word.
The last syllable of a verse may be short, the pause at the end completing the quantity.
§ 451. Caesura.—When a foot contains the end of one word and the beginning of another, the division is called the Caesura. The division ¯ 𝄀 ˘ ˘ or ¯ 𝄀 ¯ is the Strong Caesura , ¯ ˘ 𝄀 ˘ the Weak Caesura.
In a Hexameter either the third or the fourth foot must have a strong caesura. The fifth foot of a Hexameter has a weak caesura or none at all, and the last dactyl of a Pentameter must have the weak caesura.
§ 452. The Pentameter is only used alternately with the Hexameter forming the Elegiac metre, appropriate to Reflective poems.
The Hexameter used alone constitutes the Heroic metre, appropriate to Narrative poems.
