The Epic Line: Dactylic Hexameter

Level 6

Six feet: dactyl or spondee in the first four, a dactyl in the fifth, and two syllables in the sixth.

How It Works

LineFeet
Arma virumque cano, Troiae qui primus ab orisar-ma-vi | rum-que-ca | no-tro | iae-qui | pri-mus-ab | o-ris; dactyl, dactyl, spondee, spondee, dactyl, spondee
Tantae molis erat Romanam condere gentemtan-tae | mo-lis-e | rat-ro | ma-nam | con-de-re | gen-tem; spondee, dactyl, spondee, spondee, dactyl, spondee

Dactyls speed a line up and spondees slow it down. Ovid's Militat omnis amans line is all dactyls up to the last foot, and it runs fast.

Lessons show no bars over the vowels, so look up the long vowels before you scan a line.

Examples (4)

  1. Arma virumque cano, Troiae qui primus ab oris.

    I sing of arms and the man who first came from the shores of Troy.

    Aeneid 1.1. Dactyl, dactyl, spondee, spondee, dactyl, spondee.

  2. Tantae molis erat Romanam condere gentem!

    It was such a huge task to found the Roman people!

    Aeneid 1.33. Spondee, dactyl, spondee, spondee, dactyl, spondee.

  3. At regina gravi iamdudum saucia cura

    But the queen, long since wounded by heavy care

    Aeneid 4.1. Spondee, dactyl, spondee, spondee, dactyl, spondee.

  4. Militat omnis amans, et habet sua castra Cupido

    Every lover is a soldier, and Cupid has his own camp.

    Ovid, Amores 1.9.1. Five dactyls and a closing spondee, so the line is quick.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

The Epic Line: Dactylic HexameterLevel 6

Learn This First

The epic line is built from long and short syllables, so scansion comes first.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.