Caesura

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Related Terms • Meter • Caesura • Diaeresis • Prosody • Dochmiacs • Iambic Trimeter • Anapests • Trochaic Trimeter • Elegiac Couplet • Poetry Intro • Epic Poetry

Definition: From prosody, the term caesura comes up when reading Greek and Latin poetry, including the Greek tragedies, the epics of Homer, and the Aeneid, by Vergil. Diaeresis is distinguished from a caesura (both of which mark word ends) by where it lies in the line of poetry. The diaeresis comes between feet; whereas the caesura comes within a metrical foot. A caesura represents a pause in the sense of the words. Caesurae always occur between two words, one at the end and one at the beginning of a clause. Depending on where the caesura occurs, it may be described as strong or weak. In dactyllic hexameter, the main caesura usually occurs in the third foot.

From the Latin verb caedere = to cut.

Pronunciation: siz-YUR-uh • (noun)

Examples: In the opening line of Vergil's Aeneid (an epic and written in hexameters), the diaeresis precedes the last two metrical feet: primus ab oris; whereas the main caesura comes after cano. The main caesura corresponds with the line's only punctuation. Long syllables are marked "-" and short syllables are marked "u." The end of each foot is marked "/" and a double slash marks each caesura.

-   u // u / Arma // vi /

-   u // u   / rumque// ca /

-   // -   / no, // Troi /

-   // - / ae // qui /

-   u // u / primus // ab /

- x oris

Arma virumque cano, Troiae qui primus ab oris
(Arms and the man I sing, the first who from the Trojan shore)

Elsewhere on the Web: Caesura
Glossary of poetic terms.

4. Caesura and Diaeresis
Scroll down for caesura and other rules for Greek and Latin prosody.

Reading Latin Poetry
Article on meter and scansion.

William Harris - How to Read Latin Poetry