← Back to course

The Proem & Dactylic Hexameter

You’ll be able to

The programmatic opening

The Aeneid begins by naming its subject in three words: Arma virumque canō — “I sing of arms and the man.” Arma (“arms/warfare,” neuter accusative plural) points to the martial second half of the poem; virum (“the man,” accusative singular of vir) points to Aeneas and echoes the andra of Homer’s Odyssey; -que (“and”) links them; canō (“I sing,” 1st person singular present) announces the epic performance. The full opening — Arma virumque canō, Trōiae quī prīmus ab ōrīs / Ītaliam fātō profugus Lāvīniaque vēnit / lītora — establishes exile (profugus, “a fugitive”) and destiny (fātō, ablative, “by fate”) as the poem’s driving forces.

The rules of quantity

Latin meter is built on syllable quantity (long vs. short), not stress. A syllable is long if it contains a long vowel or diphthong (like ae, au), or if its vowel is followed by two or more consonants (“long by position”). A syllable is short if it has a short vowel followed by at most one consonant. Two special rules matter: x and z count as double consonants, and a stop + liquid (like pr, tr) may leave the preceding syllable short. Finally, elision: when a word ending in a vowel (or vowel + m) meets a word beginning with a vowel or h, the first vowel is dropped in scansion.

The hexameter line

Vergil writes in dactylic hexameter: six feet per line. A dactyl is one long syllable followed by two shorts (– ∪ ∪); a spondee is two longs (– –). Feet 1–4 may each be a dactyl or a spondee; the fifth foot is almost always a dactyl; the sixth foot is a spondee or trochee (the last syllable counts as long regardless). Most lines also have a caesura — a word-break within a foot, usually the third — that shapes the rhythm. Scanning aloud trains your ear for Vergil’s music and helps confirm vowel lengths that affect meaning.

Worked example

Scan the first line of the Aeneid: “Arma virumque canō, Trōiae quī prīmus ab ōrīs.”

  1. 1.Mark the certain longs: “Trōiae” has the diphthong -ō- (long) and -ae (long diphthong); “canō” ends in long -ō (1st sg.); “quī,” “prī-,” “ō-,” “-īs” have long vowels.
  2. 2.Foot 1: Ar-ma-vi → “Ar” is long by position (a + rm), “ma” and “vi” short = dactyl (– ∪ ∪).
  3. 3.Foot 2: rum-que-ca → “rum” long by position, “que,” “ca” short = dactyl (– ∪ ∪).
  4. 4.Foot 3: nō-Trō → both long = spondee (– –); the caesura falls here, after “canō.”
  5. 5.Foot 4: iae-quī → both long = spondee (– –).
  6. 6.Foot 5: prī-mus-ab → “prī” long, “mus,” “ab” short = dactyl (– ∪ ∪); Foot 6: ō-rīs = spondee (– –).
Answer: The line scans D D S S D S: “Ār-mă vĭ | rūm-quĕ că | nō Trō | iāe quī | prī-mŭs ăb | ō-rīs,” with the main caesura after “canō.” It means “I sing of arms and the man who first from the shores of Troy…”
Tip

Scan mechanically before you scan by ear: (1) mark elisions, (2) mark all vowels long by nature or by position, (3) the fifth foot is your anchor — it is nearly always a dactyl, so work backward from the line’s end. The final two feet are almost always – ∪ ∪ | – –.

Checkpoint

In dactylic hexameter, which foot is almost always a dactyl (– ∪ ∪)?

On the exam

The AP exam asks you to scan the first four feet of a designated Vergil line and often to identify the caesura. Practice marking elisions first — a missed elision throws off every foot after it. Write the macra and breves directly above the vowels to earn full credit.

Checkpoint

In the phrase “Trōiae quī prīmus ab ōrīs,” why must “ab ōrīs” involve no elision, while “multum ille” (elsewhere) does?

Answer the 2 checkpoints as you read.

Sign in to save your progress