Unseen verse translation and scansion (Ovid)

Compare two ways of saying the same thing. Constructed illustrative prose (not a quotation): nauta, quī multās terrās vīderat, tandem ad patriam rediit. Constructed illustrative verse in the same sense (not a quotation): multa procul vīsūrus adit sua lītora nauta. List everything the second version does that the first does not.

1. 01The subject moves to the end

   In the prose version nauta stands first, where an English reader expects a subject. In the verse version it stands last, which is a position of emphasis in Latin verse and is also, very often, simply where the metre wanted a disyllable. Both explanations are usually true at once, and a translator should not assume that every displacement is significant - but should always ask.

2. 02The adjective is separated from its noun

   multa in the verse version is neuter accusative plural and belongs with nothing in its immediate neighbourhood; it is used substantivally, 'many things', as the object of vīsūrus. In prose the phrase multās terrās keeps the two words together. Separating an adjective from its noun, or leaving it to stand on its own, is normal verse practice and is the first thing a reader of verse must learn to cope with.

3. 03A participle replaces a relative clause

   The prose has quī multās terrās vīderat, a relative clause with a finite pluperfect. The verse has vīsūrus, the future active participle, which compresses the same idea into one word and shifts the sense: 'destined to see' or 'intending to see'. Verse prefers participles to finite subordination because participles are shorter, and shortness is a metrical virtue.

4. 04The vocabulary is poetic

   The prose has ad patriam rediit; the verse has adit sua lītora, using a compound verb with a direct accusative rather than a preposition, and lītora, shores, for the more prosaic patria. Poets prefer the concrete to the abstract and the specific to the general, and they prefer verbs that can take a plain accusative to verbs that need a preposition, because a preposition costs a syllable.

5. 05The metre governs the order

   The verse line is a hexameter and every word in it has been placed where its shape fits. That is not an excuse for the reader: the meaning is fully recoverable, because Latin marks grammatical relationships on the words themselves. But it does mean that the sequence of words is not the sequence of thought, and reading verse left to right in the hope that a sentence will emerge is even less effective than it is in prose.

6. 06How to read it

   Find the verb (adit), find its subject (nauta, nominative singular, at the end), find the object (sua lītora, neuter accusative plural, with sua agreeing), then attach the participle (vīsūrus, nominative singular masculine, agreeing with nauta) and its own object (multa, neuter accusative plural), and finally place the adverb (procul). Translation: 'The sailor, who is to see many things far off, approaches his own shores.' The method is exactly the method for prose; the difference is that the distances between related words are greater.

Result: Five differences: the subject displaced to the end, an adjective standing free of any noun, a participle replacing a finite subordinate clause, poetic vocabulary preferring the concrete and the compound, and a word order determined by metre. None of them changes how the sentence is analysed; all of them change how far apart the pieces are lying.

Constructed illustrative verse (not a quotation): saeva sedet mediīs incīnctus nūbibus āēr. Do not read it left to right. Instead, list every word with its case, number and gender, then match, then translate.

1. 01Inventory the forms

   saeva: nominative or ablative singular feminine, or nominative or accusative plural neuter, of saevus, -a, -um. sedet: third person singular present indicative of sedeō. mediīs: dative or ablative plural, masculine, feminine or neuter, of medius, -a, -um. incīnctus: nominative singular masculine, perfect passive participle of incingō. nūbibus: dative or ablative plural of nūbēs, nūbis, f. āēr: nominative singular masculine of āēr, āeris, m., a Greek loan word. Nothing has been translated yet; this is pure form-sorting.

2. 02Find the frame

   sedet is the only finite verb, so it is the main verb and its subject must be nominative singular. Two candidates are nominative singular: incīnctus (masculine) and āēr (masculine). One of them is the subject and the other agrees with it - and since incīnctus is a participle, it is the participle and āēr is the subject. āēr sedet: the air sits, or hangs, or settles.

3. 03Place mediīs nūbibus

   mediīs is dative or ablative plural and nūbibus is dative or ablative plural; they agree, and they must belong together. Which case? incingō means to gird about, to surround, and a perfect passive participle of that verb naturally takes an ablative of the thing it is surrounded with, or an accusative of respect in the Greek manner. Ablative here: 'girded about with clouds in the middle', or more naturally 'wrapped in clouds all around'. Note that mediīs has been placed between the verb and the participle, splitting the phrase, which is the ordinary condition of verse.

4. 04Place saeva

   This is the deliberate difficulty. saeva cannot agree with āēr, which is masculine, nor with incīnctus. It cannot agree with mediīs nūbibus, which is dative or ablative plural. What is left is neuter accusative plural or nominative singular feminine, and there is no feminine singular noun in the line. So saeva is neuter accusative plural, used substantivally as the internal object of a verb - 'savage things', 'savagery' - or, in the reading preferred here, an adverbial accusative: 'savagely'. This use of a neuter plural adjective as an adverb is a poeticism and it is precisely the kind of thing that separates a verse reader from a prose reader.

5. 05Check the line as a whole

   Every word is placed: āēr (subject, nominative), sedet (verb), incīnctus (participle agreeing with āēr), mediīs nūbibus (ablative with the participle), saeva (adverbial neuter plural). Nothing is unaccounted for and nothing has been invented. Note that the line is a bracket: saeva at the start and āēr at the end, with everything else inside them - a frame of exactly the kind described above, except that here the framing words do not agree with each other, which is a further refinement.

6. 06Render it

   'The air, wrapped all round in clouds, settles savagely.' A freer rendering might be 'the sky hangs low and savage, swathed in cloud'. The first is closer and would be safer in Component 01; the second is better English and shows more understanding. In an unseen, prefer the first and make sure it is complete.

Result: The air, wrapped all round in clouds, settles savagely. The method: inventory every form before translating anything, find the finite verb, identify its subject by agreement rather than by position, attach the participle, attach the ablative phrase, and only then deal with the word that agrees with nothing - which is nearly always the interesting one.

Constructed illustrative hexameter (not a quotation): multa diū passus, tandem ad sua tēcta redībat. Mark every syllable heavy or light, giving the reason in each case, and say how many syllables the line actually has.

1. 01Find the elision first

   tandem ends in -m preceded by a vowel and ad begins with a vowel, so the syllable -dem is elided. Cross it out before doing anything else. Written out, the line has sixteen syllables; scanned, it has fifteen. Every scansion should begin with this step, because an uncorrected syllable count makes the foot division impossible.

2. 02mul-ta di-ū

   mul: the u is short by nature but l and t follow, so heavy by position. ta: the final a of multa is a neuter accusative plural, short, and only d follows, so light. di: the i of diū is short by nature and a vowel follows, so light - vowel before vowel is short. ū: long by nature, so heavy. Four syllables, and only one of them needed any knowledge of the word.

3. 03pas-sus, tan-

   pas: short a, but two s's follow, so heavy by position. sus: the u of the participle ending -us is short, but s and t follow across the word break, so heavy by position. tan: short a, but n and d follow, so heavy by position. Three heavy syllables in a row, all by position, none requiring a vowel quantity to be known.

4. 04ad su-a

   ad: the a is short, but d and s follow - the s belonging to sua - so heavy by position. su: short u with a vowel following, so light. a: the final a of sua, neuter accusative plural, short, with only t following, so light. Note that ad here is the second element of the elision and now stands where -dem would have stood.

5. 05tēc-ta re-dī-bat

   tēc: long e by nature and two consonants as well, so heavy twice over. ta: short final a of a neuter plural, one consonant, light. re: short e, one consonant, light. dī: the ī of the imperfect redībat is long by nature, so heavy. bat: the last syllable of the line, anceps, counted heavy whatever its quantity.

6. 06The result written out

   Heavy, light, light - heavy, heavy - heavy, heavy - heavy, light, light - heavy, light, light - heavy, heavy. Fifteen syllables. Eleven of the fifteen were settled by position or by the anceps rule and needed no vocabulary knowledge at all; only ū, tēc and dī required a vowel quantity, and all three are long. That ratio is typical, and it is the reason a candidate who knows the position rules cold can scan a line they cannot fully translate.

Result: The line scans as fifteen syllables after elision: mul-ta-di / ū-pas / sus-tan / ad-su-a / tēc-ta-re / dī-bat. Weights: H L L / H H / H H / H L L / H L L / H H. Reasons: one elision, eight heavies by position, three heavies by nature, one anceps, and six lights of which two are short open syllables before a single consonant and one is a vowel before a vowel.

Scan the first line of Ovid's Metamorphoses, printed as an examination paper would print it, without macrons: In nova fert animus mutatas dicere formas. Then scan the constructed illustrative line (not a quotation): consul in urbe sedet, sed miles ad arma vocatur. Mark quantities, divide the feet and name the caesura in each.

1. 01Ovid: elisions and syllable count

   There is no elision in this line: no word ends in a vowel or -m before a word beginning with a vowel or h. Written out, the syllables are In, no, va, fert, a, ni, mus, mu, ta, tas, di, ce, re, for, mas - fifteen. Fifteen syllables in a hexameter means three dactyls and three spondees somewhere among the six feet, since a wholly spondaic line would have thirteen and a wholly dactylic one seventeen.

2. 02Ovid: quantities from position

   In is heavy: the n of nova follows the n of In, giving two consonants. fert is heavy: r and t follow. mus is heavy: the s of animus and the m of mutatas give two consonants. tas is heavy: the s and the d of dicere. for is heavy: r and m. That is five heavies established without knowing a single vowel quantity. Three more come from nature: mu and ta in mutatas are both long, being the perfect passive participle of muto, and di in dicere is long. mas is the last syllable of the line and is anceps, counted heavy. The remaining syllables - no, va, a, ni, ce, re - are all short vowels followed by at most one consonant, and so light.

3. 03Ovid: dividing the feet

   Working from the right: the sixth foot is for-mas, heavy heavy. The fifth is di-ce-re, heavy light light, a dactyl as expected. The fourth is ta-tas, heavy heavy, a spondee. The third is mus-mu, heavy heavy, a spondee. The second is fert-a-ni, heavy light light, a dactyl. The first is In-no-va, heavy light light, a dactyl. So the pattern is dactyl, dactyl, spondee, spondee, dactyl, spondee - three dactyls and three spondees, which matches the syllable count of fifteen.

4. 04Ovid: the caesura

   The third foot is mus-mu. Is there a word break after mus? Yes: animus ends there and mutatas begins. So there is a strong, penthemimeral caesura after the first syllable of the third foot, which is the commonest arrangement in Latin hexameter. There is also a trihemimeral caesura after fert, the first syllable of the second foot, and word-end falls at the close of the fourth foot after mutatas, which is a bucolic diaeresis. Name the penthemimeral as the main caesura; mention the others only if asked.

5. 05The constructed line: scansion

   consul in urbe sedet, sed miles ad arma vocatur. No elisions; sixteen syllables, so four dactyls and two spondees. Positions: ur is heavy (r plus b), det is heavy (t plus the s of sed), sed is heavy (d plus the m of miles), ar is heavy (r plus m). Natures: the o of consul is long, the i of miles is long, and the a of vocatur is long, being the stem vowel of a first-conjugation passive. The final tur is anceps. Lights: sul (short u, one consonant before a vowel), in (short i, one consonant), be, ma, les, ad, ma, vo - each a short vowel followed by at most one consonant.

6. 06The constructed line: feet and caesura

   From the right: vocatur gives ca-tur, heavy heavy, the sixth foot. ar-ma-vo is heavy light light, the fifth, a dactyl as expected. mi-les-ad is heavy light light, the fourth. det-sed is heavy heavy, the third. ur-be-ma is heavy light light, the second. con-sul-in is heavy light light, the first. The pattern is dactyl, dactyl, spondee, dactyl, dactyl, spondee - sixteen syllables, four dactyls and two spondees, which checks. The third foot is det-sed, and sedet ends after det, so the caesura is again penthemimeral - and here it coincides with the comma, which is the usual and expected arrangement: metrical pause and sense pause together.

Result: Ovid, Metamorphoses 1.1: In no-va | fert a-ni | mus mu | ta-tas | di-ce-re | for-mas - dactyl, dactyl, spondee, spondee, dactyl, spondee, with a strong penthemimeral caesura after animus. Constructed line: con-sul-in | ur-be-ma | det sed | mi-les-ad | ar-ma-vo | ca-tur - dactyl, dactyl, spondee, dactyl, dactyl, spondee, with a strong penthemimeral caesura after sedet, coinciding with the sense pause.

Constructed illustrative examples in a poetic register (not quotations; they are written to display the forms, not to scan): (a) nam superum rēgī dōna dedēre virī. (b) illa, comās passa et nūda pedem, ad lītora currit. (c) nōn ego crēdideram tantum tibi posse dolōrem. Identify every form that could not occur in ordinary prose, and translate.

1. 01(a) superum

   Not an accusative singular masculine, which is what a hasty reader assumes, but the syncopated genitive plural of superī, the gods above - superum for superōrum. The clue is the syntax: rēgī is a dative singular and needs something to depend on, and 'to the king of the gods above' is exactly what a genitive plural supplies. The same form appears in deum for deōrum and virum for virōrum, and it is common enough in verse to be worth expecting.

2. 02(a) dedēre

   The alternative third person plural perfect of dō: dedēre for dedērunt. The subject is virī, nominative plural, standing at the end of the line - another verse habit. dōna is neuter accusative plural, 'gifts' or 'offerings'. Translation: 'For the men gave gifts to the king of the gods above.' Note that reading dedēre as an infinitive would leave the line with no finite verb at all, which is the standard diagnostic.

3. 03(b) comās passa

   Two things at once. passa is the perfect participle of the deponent patior, so it is active in meaning; but here it belongs to the other passa, from pandō, pandere, pandī, passum, to spread out - so 'having spread', used almost reflexively of her own hair. comās is a Greek accusative of respect with the participle: 'spread as to her hair', that is, 'with her hair streaming'. Prose would say passīs comīs, an ablative absolute. Recognising which of two identical-looking participles is in play is a lexical problem, and the object comās settles it.

4. 04(b) nūda pedem

   A second Greek accusative, this time with an adjective. nūda is nominative singular feminine and agrees with illa, the subject; pedem is the accusative of respect that limits it - 'bare as to the foot', that is, barefoot. Note which word the adjective agrees with: nūdum pedem, with the adjective attached to the noun instead, would mean something quite different and would leave illa undescribed. A prose writer would write nūdō pede, an ablative of respect or description. The construction is a Greek import, it is entirely at home in Latin verse, and a candidate who tries to make pedem the object of currit will produce a sentence in which somebody runs a foot.

5. 05(c) crēdideram and posse

   crēdideram is a plain pluperfect - 'I had believed' - but the emphatic nōn ego, with the pronoun expressed where the verb ending would have sufficed, is a verse habit marking contrast: 'I for my part had not believed'. posse governs an indirect statement: tantum dolōrem is the accusative subject, tibi a dative dependent on posse, and the sense is 'that so much grief could belong to you', or more naturally 'that you were capable of such grief'. The whole line is an example of the compression verse achieves without any special form at all.

6. 06What the three lines have in common

   Every difficulty was a known form in an unfamiliar coat: a syncopated genitive plural, an alternative perfect ending, two Greek accusatives, and an emphatic pronoun. No new vocabulary was needed for any of them, and each was resolved by asking what the syntax required rather than by guessing at the word. That is the whole method for verse morphology.

Result: (a) For the men gave gifts to the king of the gods above. (b) She, with her hair streaming and one foot bare, runs to the shore. (c) I for my part had not believed that you were capable of such grief. Verse forms identified: superum (syncopated genitive plural), dedēre (alternative third plural perfect), comās passa and nūda pedem (two Greek accusatives), and the emphatic expressed pronoun ego.

Constructed illustrative couplet in the elegiac manner (not a quotation): cōnsul in urbe sedet, sed mīles ad arma vocātur; nam procul ā tēctīs tempora dūra manent. Scan both lines, divide the feet, mark and name the caesura in the hexameter, and set the answer out as it would be written in the examination.

1. 01Line 1: preliminaries

   No elisions. Count the syllables: con, sul, in, ur, be, se, det, sed, mi, les, ad, ar, ma, vo, ca, tur - sixteen. Sixteen syllables in a hexameter means four dactyls and two spondees. Write that number in the margin before doing anything else; it is the check that everything else must satisfy.

2. 02Line 1: the fixed end

   The sixth foot is the last two syllables, ca-tur, and it is heavy heavy: the a of vocatur is long by nature, being the stem vowel of the first conjugation, and tur is anceps. The fifth foot is the three before that, ar-ma-vo, and it is a dactyl: ar is heavy by position (r plus m), ma and vo are short vowels before single consonants. Two feet down, five syllables accounted for, eleven left for the first four feet.

3. 03Line 1: working leftwards

   Eleven syllables in four feet means three dactyls and one spondee. mi-les-ad is heavy light light: the i of miles is long by nature, les is a short vowel with only s before a vowel, and ad is a short vowel with only d before a vowel. det-sed is heavy heavy: det is closed by t plus the s of sed, and sed is closed by d plus the m of miles. ur-be-ma is heavy light light: ur is closed by r plus b. con-sul-in is heavy light light: the o of consul is long by nature and also closed by n plus s, while sul and in are each a short vowel with a single consonant before a vowel. Four feet, eleven syllables, three dactyls and one spondee - the arithmetic holds.

4. 04Line 1: the caesura

   The third foot is det-sed. Is there a word break after the first syllable of the third foot, that is, after det? Yes - sedet ends there. So the line has a strong, penthemimeral caesura after sedet, and it coincides with the comma, which is the ordinary arrangement. Mark it with a double bar and name it. There is no trihemimeral, since the first syllable of the second foot is ur, inside urbe; nor a hephthemimeral, since the first syllable of the fourth foot is mi, inside miles.

5. 05Line 2: the pentameter

   A pentameter is two halves with an obligatory word break between them, and the second half is fixed: heavy, light, light, heavy, light, light, heavy. Take that half first: tempora dura manent, which is exactly that shape - tem heavy by position, po and ra light, du heavy by nature, ra and ma light, nent anceps - so its two feet divide as tem-po-ra and du-ra-ma, with nent left over as the final syllable. The first half must then be two feet plus one heavy syllable: nam-pro-cul is heavy light light (nam closed by m plus p), a-tec is heavy heavy (a long by nature as the preposition, tec long by nature and by position), and tis is heavy by nature, being the ablative plural ending. So: dactyl, spondee, single long, then the diaeresis after tectis, then the fixed second half.

6. 06How to write it on the paper

   Write each line with wide spacing. Above each vowel put a dash or a u. Between feet put a single vertical bar, and put one after the sixth foot too, so that all six are visibly divided. Put a double bar at the caesura. Underneath the hexameter write 'strong (penthemimeral) caesura in the third foot, after sedet'. Underneath the pentameter write 'diaeresis between the halves, after tectis'. Nothing else is required, and nothing that is required should be left to be inferred.

Result: Hexameter: con-sul-in | ur-be-ma | det || sed | mi-les-ad | ar-ma-vo | ca-tur - dactyl, dactyl, spondee, dactyl, dactyl, spondee; strong penthemimeral caesura in the third foot, after sedet, coinciding with the sense pause. Pentameter: nam-pro-cul | a-tec | tis || tem-po-ra | du-ra-ma | nent - dactyl, spondee, long syllable, diaeresis, then the two obligatory dactyls and the final anceps. Sixteen syllables in the first line and thirteen in the second, both counts confirmed against the foot division.