Question: What is a Diaeresis?
Answer: A "diaeresis" is a pause between one metron and the next, at the end of a word, generally marked with two vertical lines. The term comes up when reading Greek and Latin poetry, including the Greek tragedies, the epics ascribed to 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; unlike a caesura, a diaeresis doesn't necessarily represent a pause in the sense of the words.
From the Greek diairein = to divide or tear away.
Greek and Latin Poetry Meter FAQ Index:
- What Is an Anceps?
- What's the Difference Between Caesura and Diaeresis?
- What Is a Caesura?
- What's an Example of a Caesura?
- What Is Dactylic Hexameter?
- What Is a Diaeresis?
- What Is an Example of an Elegiac Couplet?
- What Is an Ictus?
- What is Meter?
- What is Prosody?
- How Do You Scan a Line of Latin Poetry?
