Welcome to Scansion, the second unit of the Hexametrica site.

The term scansion (from the Latin scandere, "to move upward by steps") refers to the process—some would call it an art—of dividing a verse into its metrical components.  It also called scanning.

This process is different from actual recitation, which seeks to preserve both sound and sense along with rhythm;  in scansion the primary concerns are to determine whether syllables are long or short and to group them into feet. Scanning is good preparation for recitation, but with practice one can easily recite and scan simultaneously.

In this unit you will read about the following:

• the principles of vowel quantities, whether natural or through position,
• these principles in action,
• the rules of dividing words into syllables,
• the process of blending words together,
• small pauses that occur within verses, and
• significant metrical divisions at the ends of lines.

After exploring this unit, you will be ready to begin reciting lines of Latin hexameter verse.