Question: What is a Caesura?
Answer: A "caesura" is an audible division in a line of poetry that occurs at the end of a word; however, the important point is that the word end does not correspond with the end of a foot. Caesurae, which is the plural of caesura, always occur between two words, one at the end and one at the beginning of a clause in the case of a strong caesura. A caesura can be marked with two vertical lines or a single line crossed (ł), as in Gildersleeve's Latin grammar. Depending on where the caesura occurs, it may be described as strong or weak. In dactylic hexameter, the main caesura usually occurs in the third foot.
The term "caesura" comes up when reading Greek and Latin poetry, including the Greek tragedies, the epics of Homer, and the Aeneid, by Vergil (Virgil).
Caesura is from the Latin verb caedere = to cut.
Greek and Latin Poetry Meter FAQ Index:
- What Is an Anceps?
- What Is a Caesura?
- What's an Example of a Caesura?
- What's the Difference Between Caesura and Diaeresis?
- What Is Dactylic Hexameter?
- What Is Dactylic Pentameter?
- What Is an Example of an Elegiac Couplet?
- What Is an Ictus?
- What is Meter?
- What Is a Metron?
- What is Prosody?
- How Do You Scan a Line of Latin Poetry?
