“dactylic”=made up (theoretically) of dactyls
    dactyl=one long beat + 2 short beats, represented as         __ v v

“hexameter”=multiplies the dactylic unit by 6; so a completely dactylic hexameter line, made up of six units (or “feet”), would look like this:

 __ v v     __ v v     __ v v     __ v v     __ v v     __ v v

BUT there are adjustments made to this. First of all, the final unit is never a full dactyl, but it is truncated; the second half is a single beat represented as X.

the X= “anceps” (=uncertain); it could be either a long or a short beat. So in alternative symbols it would look like either
__ v  or __ __. But it is simpler to represent it thus:  __  X.

SO this changes our paradigmatic line to the following:

__ v v     __ v v     __ v v     __ v v     __ v v     __  X

If you chant this type of line (chanting the dactyls as “dum-ditty”), it will have the rhythm of the theme of “Bonanza.” That can be your mnemonic device for learning hexameter.

BUT not every foot is a dactyl; poetry varies this scheme by using a different foot, the “spondee,” which is two long beats, represented as __ __.

Each foot can be either a dactyl or a spondee, with the exception of the sixth, which is an anceps, and the fifth foot, which is almost always a dactyl. When it’s a spondee, it’s striking, as it slows down the rhythm just before the line ends. Commentaries often point out such cases, which give special emphasis to the word(s) in that foot.

SO, a line can look like this (same as above):

__ v v     __ v v     __ v v     __ v v     __ v v     __  X

or  this:
 

__ v v     __ __    __ v v     __ v v     __ v v     __  X

or this:
 

__ v v     __ __     __ __     __ v v     __ v v     __  X

and so on, with many possible combinations. Remember, the sixth foot is truncated, and the fifth is usually dactylic.

Reading poetry in meter is called scanning. When a word or line represents a particular metrical scheme, it is also said to “scan.”

The “beats” in meter correspond to syllables in words. A syllable is centered around a single vowel or diphthong (two vowels that make a single sound, such as “ae”). Thus, there are long syllables and short syllables, that fit together to form a six-footed line that corresponds with one of the possible combinations.

examples of English words broken into syllables:
cor- re – sponds        com – bi – na – tions            in - to

The usual syllable form is consonant + vowel, but this obviously has exceptions – when the word begins with a vowel, or when two consonants are juxtaposed, or when a consonant is doubled. In the latter two cases, as the above examples show, the two consonants are usually separated, the first ending one syllable, the second beginning the next. (cor – re, com – bi).

The exception to this rule is if a pair of consonants can begin a word, they can begin a syllable. So, in the first example, the two “rs” must be broken up because a word cannot start that way; but “sp” could begin a word and so can begin a syllable.

The syllables in Latin words are ALREADY designated as long or short: putting words into metrical scheme does NOT mean adjusting the length of the syllables. In other words, the series of words that a poet chooses to put into a line naturally and automatically turn into dactylic hexameter. Thus the poet has to work hard to find the right words and the right arrangement.

You learned about some kinds of long and short vowels when you learned declensions and conjugations (Here all those long a’s and o’s and i’s you memorized are VERY important).

NB: diphthongs, double vowels that you pronounce in one syllable, are long (such as the “ae” ending in the first declension).

But also note that some long and short vowels are simply in the nature of the word. The dictionary entry of a word indicates the length of each vowel. The rest you must determine based on the rules of declension or conjugation.

When the length of the vowel makes a syllable long, that syllable is called long by nature.

At other times a syllable becomes long because it ends with a consonant and the next syllable begins with a consonant – as in the English example above:

com – bi     ... “com” is LONG.

or a Latin example:
    vir - tus        ... “vir” is LONG.

The idea is that it takes longer to say a syllable when it runs into two consonants, no matter what the length of the vowel inside it is. Such a syllable is said to be long by position.

NB: when a word ends with a consonant and the next word begins with another consonant, the last syllable of the first word becomes long by position, no matter what the length of its vowel is.
    e.g: dicetur nobis    ...scans as __ __ __ __ __ because the “r” hits the “n.”

When one word ends in a vowel and the next one begins in a vowel, the first vowel gets erased and the two are pronounced as one syllable. It’s like our contraction in English. This is called elision.

    e.g.: Hesperia in magna...    ...sounds like “Hesperi’ in magna,” __ v v __ __ __

The letter “m” is very weak at the end of a word, and that syllable also gets elided when it hits a word starting with a vowel. So look for this in accusative singular endings, etc.

    e.g. expediam et...    ...sounds like “expedi’ et,” __ v v __

When scanning assigned lines, first try just reading the line slowly and carefully. Half of the work is just being able to see the words as syllables, and reading each one out carefully. When the Romans scanned their poetry, they just read it out naturally, and the effect of the meter was more subtle than forced. It’s good to learn the proper rhythm by exaggerating the meter, but it’s also important to realize that the meter is already there in the words.

That being said, expect to look up words frequently to establish the length of their syllables, while you’re getting used to doing this!