The elegiac couplet is a poetic form used by Greek lyric poets for a variety of themes usually of smaller scale than the epic. Roman poets, particularly Ovid, adopted the same form in Latin many years later. As with the English heroic, each couplet usually makes sense on its own, while forming part of a larger work.
Each couplet consist of a hexameter verse followed by a pentameter verse. The following is a graphic representation of its scansion. Note that - is a long syllable, u a short syllable, and U is either one long syllable or two short syllables:
The form was felt by the ancients to contrast the rising action of the first verse with a falling quality in the second. The sentiment is summarized in a line from Ovid's Amores I.1.27 Sex mihi surgat opus numeris, in quinque residat - "Let my work rise in six steps, fall back in five." The effect is illustrated by Coleridge as:
The elegiac couplet is presumed to be the oldest Greek form of epodic poetry (a form where a later verse is sung in response or comment to a previous one). Scholars, who even in the past did not know who created it, theorize the form was originally used in Ionian dirges, with the name "elegy" derived from the Greek ε, λεγε ε, λεγε - "Woe, cry woe, cry!" Hence, the form was used initially for funeral songs, typically accompanied by an aulos, a double-reed instrument. Archilochus expanded use of the form to treat other themes, such as war, travel, or homespun philosophy. Between Archilochus and other imitators, the verse form became a common poetic vehicle for conveying any strong emotion.
How to recite Latin poetry • elegiac couplet • Ovid Am. III.2 • Ranieri's 5-stage scanning exercise
This is the companion video to the 4-min demonstration of Ranieri's 5-stage scanning exercise: https://youtu.be/Cln2_NDuZL4
Playlist of Latin meter and poetry lessons: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQQL5IeNgck0-tQ4AZgKFMlQCJud_VY_H
Playlist of Latin meter and poetry lessons: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQQL5IeNgck0-tQ4AZgKFMlQCJud_VY_H
Latin Pronunciation: Disyllables | Metrical Feet
https://youtu.be/fQYEm1eNxTM
Latin Pronunciation: Trisyllables | Metrical Feet
https://youtu.be/nQRhLI_Nh4I
Latin Pronunciation: Tetrasyllables | Metrical Feet
https://youtu.be/Laa2z4qxu74
Latin Pronunciation: Review of Metrical Feet
https://youtu.be/hCKYBI1XGy4
Romans *did* write with macrons! Video essay on Latin Apices & Hidden Quantity
https://youtu.be/D3bmLi1bKI0
Ranieri's 5-st...
published: 14 Apr 2020
LATIN POETRY Catullus 101 (Elegiac couplet)
One of the saddest poems I've ever read. And also a good example of elegiac couplet, which is formed by combining an hexameter followed by a pentameter. The hexameter has the following scansion:
_ _ / _ _ / _ _ / _ _ / _ uu / _ _
And then a pentameter:
_ _ / _ _/ _ // _ uu /_ uu / _
(_ = long, u = short, in some cases -look in Wikipedia or wherever- a long can be replaced by two shorts):
So basically the poem is hexameter-pentameter-hexameter-pentameter-and-so-on.
I learned latin independently, so the pronunciation, the rythm, the entonation and everything basically comes from what I understood studying with books and without receiving any kind of feedback. Therefore, I do not know if I am doing it right and will IMMENSELY appreciate your comments. Thanks!
By the way, the dra...
This is the companion video to the 4-min demonstration of Ranieri's 5-stage scanning exercise: https://youtu.be/Cln2_NDuZL4
Playlist of Latin meter and poetry ...
This is the companion video to the 4-min demonstration of Ranieri's 5-stage scanning exercise: https://youtu.be/Cln2_NDuZL4
Playlist of Latin meter and poetry lessons: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQQL5IeNgck0-tQ4AZgKFMlQCJud_VY_H
Playlist of Latin meter and poetry lessons: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQQL5IeNgck0-tQ4AZgKFMlQCJud_VY_H
Latin Pronunciation: Disyllables | Metrical Feet
https://youtu.be/fQYEm1eNxTM
Latin Pronunciation: Trisyllables | Metrical Feet
https://youtu.be/nQRhLI_Nh4I
Latin Pronunciation: Tetrasyllables | Metrical Feet
https://youtu.be/Laa2z4qxu74
Latin Pronunciation: Review of Metrical Feet
https://youtu.be/hCKYBI1XGy4
Romans *did* write with macrons! Video essay on Latin Apices & Hidden Quantity
https://youtu.be/D3bmLi1bKI0
Ranieri's 5-stage scanning exercise, hexameter (Aeneid):
https://youtu.be/b_NJzyFhhbw
How to scan prose, Cicero:
https://youtu.be/-0QCRinP_c4
Stop Stealing Latin's Vowels! Why are long vowels so important in Latin?
https://youtu.be/MVGGqzJ-g6g
Latin & Greek Pronunciation Chronology 500 BC - 500 AD (LLiNYC 2020)
https://youtu.be/c_Giy_LHAlU
*****
Luke Ranieri Audiobooks:
https://luke-ranieri.myshopify.com/
Support at Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/LukeRanieri
polýMathy website:
http://lukeranieri.com/polymathy/
polýMathy on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/lukepolymath
polýMathy on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/LukePolymath/
Join the community on Discord!
https://discord.gg/u4PN2u2
polýMathy on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/lukeranieri/
*****
The book Ranieri Reverse Recall on Amazon:
http://amzn.to/2nVUfqd
*****
5-stage Poetry Scanning Exercise
Stage 1: monotone
Stage 2: ditonic inflexion
Stage 3: polytonal spoken inflexion over ditonic base
Stage 4: pseudo-spoken inflexion
Stage 5: recitation for performance
Purpose of the Verse Scanning Exercise: to acquire the natural rhythm of the Latin language (and thus its poetry) by damping the interference of one's native language tendencies through systematically deconstruction of the line into its most basic and important elements, rebuilding on top of this foundation the elements of normal speech.
N.B. Master each stage before proceeding to the next. Mastery of Stage 4 is required; mastery of Stage 5 is encouraged.
Stages explained
Stage 1: monotone (purpose: to divorce the verse from native language interference, permitting concentration on the language's most important building blocks: long and short syllables)
- determine the correct syllable scansion of a given text from poetry by underlining the long syllables with straight lines and the short syllables with curved lines
- tap out the rhythm
- produce the rhythm vocally in monotone with a singing syllable such as "la" or "ba"
- sing the line of poetry in monotone, maintaining precise rhythm; a metronome may help
Stage 2: ditonic inflexion (purpose: to reintroduce the second most important lexical feature of Latin, namely the stressed syllables, but using pitch instead of loudness; this helps the practitioner to further divorce the long syllables from the emphasized/stressed/accented syllables)
- add acute accent marks to the stressed syllables of the text
- as in stage 1, sing the line of poetry, but on the accented syllables raise the pitch by some interval (such as a third, but any will do that is comfortable)
Stage 3: polytonal spoken inflexion over ditonic base (purpose: to reintroduce the natural prosody of speech while still artificially raising the pitch on every accented syllable)
- as in stage 2, raise the pitch on the accented syllables, but allow the melody of the voice to flow as natural speech between highs and lows
- remember always to maintain strict long and short syllable rhythm; nothing is more important
Stage 4: pseudo-spoken inflexion (purpose: to recite each line with normal spoken melody)
- instead of raising the pitch on every accented syllable, allow normal lexical stress (which is not necessarily based on pitch, but is instead an increase in loudness) to take over
- maintain correct syllable quantity at all times, with robotic adherence to the rhythm
- each line should sound more or less like normal speech, expect that all natural pauses, either based on punctuation, or interpretation by the practitioner, will be ignored
Stage 5: recitation for performance (purpose: to perform the piece for an audience)
- rather than reciting each line of poetry as a strict rhythmical unit, break the text into phrases according to the natural pauses of narrative
- ensure each phrase is rhythmically correct
- techniques include pauses at punctuation, and no pause at the end of a line if the phrase continues semantically into the next line
The Verse Scanning Exercise is to be utilized for all poetry until Stage 4 can be attained at sight for any poem.
Thank you for subscribing!
This is the companion video to the 4-min demonstration of Ranieri's 5-stage scanning exercise: https://youtu.be/Cln2_NDuZL4
Playlist of Latin meter and poetry lessons: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQQL5IeNgck0-tQ4AZgKFMlQCJud_VY_H
Playlist of Latin meter and poetry lessons: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQQL5IeNgck0-tQ4AZgKFMlQCJud_VY_H
Latin Pronunciation: Disyllables | Metrical Feet
https://youtu.be/fQYEm1eNxTM
Latin Pronunciation: Trisyllables | Metrical Feet
https://youtu.be/nQRhLI_Nh4I
Latin Pronunciation: Tetrasyllables | Metrical Feet
https://youtu.be/Laa2z4qxu74
Latin Pronunciation: Review of Metrical Feet
https://youtu.be/hCKYBI1XGy4
Romans *did* write with macrons! Video essay on Latin Apices & Hidden Quantity
https://youtu.be/D3bmLi1bKI0
Ranieri's 5-stage scanning exercise, hexameter (Aeneid):
https://youtu.be/b_NJzyFhhbw
How to scan prose, Cicero:
https://youtu.be/-0QCRinP_c4
Stop Stealing Latin's Vowels! Why are long vowels so important in Latin?
https://youtu.be/MVGGqzJ-g6g
Latin & Greek Pronunciation Chronology 500 BC - 500 AD (LLiNYC 2020)
https://youtu.be/c_Giy_LHAlU
*****
Luke Ranieri Audiobooks:
https://luke-ranieri.myshopify.com/
Support at Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/LukeRanieri
polýMathy website:
http://lukeranieri.com/polymathy/
polýMathy on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/lukepolymath
polýMathy on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/LukePolymath/
Join the community on Discord!
https://discord.gg/u4PN2u2
polýMathy on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/lukeranieri/
*****
The book Ranieri Reverse Recall on Amazon:
http://amzn.to/2nVUfqd
*****
5-stage Poetry Scanning Exercise
Stage 1: monotone
Stage 2: ditonic inflexion
Stage 3: polytonal spoken inflexion over ditonic base
Stage 4: pseudo-spoken inflexion
Stage 5: recitation for performance
Purpose of the Verse Scanning Exercise: to acquire the natural rhythm of the Latin language (and thus its poetry) by damping the interference of one's native language tendencies through systematically deconstruction of the line into its most basic and important elements, rebuilding on top of this foundation the elements of normal speech.
N.B. Master each stage before proceeding to the next. Mastery of Stage 4 is required; mastery of Stage 5 is encouraged.
Stages explained
Stage 1: monotone (purpose: to divorce the verse from native language interference, permitting concentration on the language's most important building blocks: long and short syllables)
- determine the correct syllable scansion of a given text from poetry by underlining the long syllables with straight lines and the short syllables with curved lines
- tap out the rhythm
- produce the rhythm vocally in monotone with a singing syllable such as "la" or "ba"
- sing the line of poetry in monotone, maintaining precise rhythm; a metronome may help
Stage 2: ditonic inflexion (purpose: to reintroduce the second most important lexical feature of Latin, namely the stressed syllables, but using pitch instead of loudness; this helps the practitioner to further divorce the long syllables from the emphasized/stressed/accented syllables)
- add acute accent marks to the stressed syllables of the text
- as in stage 1, sing the line of poetry, but on the accented syllables raise the pitch by some interval (such as a third, but any will do that is comfortable)
Stage 3: polytonal spoken inflexion over ditonic base (purpose: to reintroduce the natural prosody of speech while still artificially raising the pitch on every accented syllable)
- as in stage 2, raise the pitch on the accented syllables, but allow the melody of the voice to flow as natural speech between highs and lows
- remember always to maintain strict long and short syllable rhythm; nothing is more important
Stage 4: pseudo-spoken inflexion (purpose: to recite each line with normal spoken melody)
- instead of raising the pitch on every accented syllable, allow normal lexical stress (which is not necessarily based on pitch, but is instead an increase in loudness) to take over
- maintain correct syllable quantity at all times, with robotic adherence to the rhythm
- each line should sound more or less like normal speech, expect that all natural pauses, either based on punctuation, or interpretation by the practitioner, will be ignored
Stage 5: recitation for performance (purpose: to perform the piece for an audience)
- rather than reciting each line of poetry as a strict rhythmical unit, break the text into phrases according to the natural pauses of narrative
- ensure each phrase is rhythmically correct
- techniques include pauses at punctuation, and no pause at the end of a line if the phrase continues semantically into the next line
The Verse Scanning Exercise is to be utilized for all poetry until Stage 4 can be attained at sight for any poem.
Thank you for subscribing!
One of the saddest poems I've ever read. And also a good example of elegiac couplet, which is formed by combining an hexameter followed by a pentameter. The hex...
One of the saddest poems I've ever read. And also a good example of elegiac couplet, which is formed by combining an hexameter followed by a pentameter. The hexameter has the following scansion:
_ _ / _ _ / _ _ / _ _ / _ uu / _ _
And then a pentameter:
_ _ / _ _/ _ // _ uu /_ uu / _
(_ = long, u = short, in some cases -look in Wikipedia or wherever- a long can be replaced by two shorts):
So basically the poem is hexameter-pentameter-hexameter-pentameter-and-so-on.
I learned latin independently, so the pronunciation, the rythm, the entonation and everything basically comes from what I understood studying with books and without receiving any kind of feedback. Therefore, I do not know if I am doing it right and will IMMENSELY appreciate your comments. Thanks!
By the way, the drawings are by Gustave Doré and the music is by Edvard Grieg (Sonata for cello and piano in A minor, Op. 36, 2nd movement)
One of the saddest poems I've ever read. And also a good example of elegiac couplet, which is formed by combining an hexameter followed by a pentameter. The hexameter has the following scansion:
_ _ / _ _ / _ _ / _ _ / _ uu / _ _
And then a pentameter:
_ _ / _ _/ _ // _ uu /_ uu / _
(_ = long, u = short, in some cases -look in Wikipedia or wherever- a long can be replaced by two shorts):
So basically the poem is hexameter-pentameter-hexameter-pentameter-and-so-on.
I learned latin independently, so the pronunciation, the rythm, the entonation and everything basically comes from what I understood studying with books and without receiving any kind of feedback. Therefore, I do not know if I am doing it right and will IMMENSELY appreciate your comments. Thanks!
By the way, the drawings are by Gustave Doré and the music is by Edvard Grieg (Sonata for cello and piano in A minor, Op. 36, 2nd movement)
This is the companion video to the 4-min demonstration of Ranieri's 5-stage scanning exercise: https://youtu.be/Cln2_NDuZL4
Playlist of Latin meter and poetry lessons: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQQL5IeNgck0-tQ4AZgKFMlQCJud_VY_H
Playlist of Latin meter and poetry lessons: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQQL5IeNgck0-tQ4AZgKFMlQCJud_VY_H
Latin Pronunciation: Disyllables | Metrical Feet
https://youtu.be/fQYEm1eNxTM
Latin Pronunciation: Trisyllables | Metrical Feet
https://youtu.be/nQRhLI_Nh4I
Latin Pronunciation: Tetrasyllables | Metrical Feet
https://youtu.be/Laa2z4qxu74
Latin Pronunciation: Review of Metrical Feet
https://youtu.be/hCKYBI1XGy4
Romans *did* write with macrons! Video essay on Latin Apices & Hidden Quantity
https://youtu.be/D3bmLi1bKI0
Ranieri's 5-stage scanning exercise, hexameter (Aeneid):
https://youtu.be/b_NJzyFhhbw
How to scan prose, Cicero:
https://youtu.be/-0QCRinP_c4
Stop Stealing Latin's Vowels! Why are long vowels so important in Latin?
https://youtu.be/MVGGqzJ-g6g
Latin & Greek Pronunciation Chronology 500 BC - 500 AD (LLiNYC 2020)
https://youtu.be/c_Giy_LHAlU
*****
Luke Ranieri Audiobooks:
https://luke-ranieri.myshopify.com/
Support at Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/LukeRanieri
polýMathy website:
http://lukeranieri.com/polymathy/
polýMathy on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/lukepolymath
polýMathy on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/LukePolymath/
Join the community on Discord!
https://discord.gg/u4PN2u2
polýMathy on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/lukeranieri/
*****
The book Ranieri Reverse Recall on Amazon:
http://amzn.to/2nVUfqd
*****
5-stage Poetry Scanning Exercise
Stage 1: monotone
Stage 2: ditonic inflexion
Stage 3: polytonal spoken inflexion over ditonic base
Stage 4: pseudo-spoken inflexion
Stage 5: recitation for performance
Purpose of the Verse Scanning Exercise: to acquire the natural rhythm of the Latin language (and thus its poetry) by damping the interference of one's native language tendencies through systematically deconstruction of the line into its most basic and important elements, rebuilding on top of this foundation the elements of normal speech.
N.B. Master each stage before proceeding to the next. Mastery of Stage 4 is required; mastery of Stage 5 is encouraged.
Stages explained
Stage 1: monotone (purpose: to divorce the verse from native language interference, permitting concentration on the language's most important building blocks: long and short syllables)
- determine the correct syllable scansion of a given text from poetry by underlining the long syllables with straight lines and the short syllables with curved lines
- tap out the rhythm
- produce the rhythm vocally in monotone with a singing syllable such as "la" or "ba"
- sing the line of poetry in monotone, maintaining precise rhythm; a metronome may help
Stage 2: ditonic inflexion (purpose: to reintroduce the second most important lexical feature of Latin, namely the stressed syllables, but using pitch instead of loudness; this helps the practitioner to further divorce the long syllables from the emphasized/stressed/accented syllables)
- add acute accent marks to the stressed syllables of the text
- as in stage 1, sing the line of poetry, but on the accented syllables raise the pitch by some interval (such as a third, but any will do that is comfortable)
Stage 3: polytonal spoken inflexion over ditonic base (purpose: to reintroduce the natural prosody of speech while still artificially raising the pitch on every accented syllable)
- as in stage 2, raise the pitch on the accented syllables, but allow the melody of the voice to flow as natural speech between highs and lows
- remember always to maintain strict long and short syllable rhythm; nothing is more important
Stage 4: pseudo-spoken inflexion (purpose: to recite each line with normal spoken melody)
- instead of raising the pitch on every accented syllable, allow normal lexical stress (which is not necessarily based on pitch, but is instead an increase in loudness) to take over
- maintain correct syllable quantity at all times, with robotic adherence to the rhythm
- each line should sound more or less like normal speech, expect that all natural pauses, either based on punctuation, or interpretation by the practitioner, will be ignored
Stage 5: recitation for performance (purpose: to perform the piece for an audience)
- rather than reciting each line of poetry as a strict rhythmical unit, break the text into phrases according to the natural pauses of narrative
- ensure each phrase is rhythmically correct
- techniques include pauses at punctuation, and no pause at the end of a line if the phrase continues semantically into the next line
The Verse Scanning Exercise is to be utilized for all poetry until Stage 4 can be attained at sight for any poem.
Thank you for subscribing!
One of the saddest poems I've ever read. And also a good example of elegiac couplet, which is formed by combining an hexameter followed by a pentameter. The hexameter has the following scansion:
_ _ / _ _ / _ _ / _ _ / _ uu / _ _
And then a pentameter:
_ _ / _ _/ _ // _ uu /_ uu / _
(_ = long, u = short, in some cases -look in Wikipedia or wherever- a long can be replaced by two shorts):
So basically the poem is hexameter-pentameter-hexameter-pentameter-and-so-on.
I learned latin independently, so the pronunciation, the rythm, the entonation and everything basically comes from what I understood studying with books and without receiving any kind of feedback. Therefore, I do not know if I am doing it right and will IMMENSELY appreciate your comments. Thanks!
By the way, the drawings are by Gustave Doré and the music is by Edvard Grieg (Sonata for cello and piano in A minor, Op. 36, 2nd movement)
The elegiac couplet is a poetic form used by Greek lyric poets for a variety of themes usually of smaller scale than the epic. Roman poets, particularly Ovid, adopted the same form in Latin many years later. As with the English heroic, each couplet usually makes sense on its own, while forming part of a larger work.
Each couplet consist of a hexameter verse followed by a pentameter verse. The following is a graphic representation of its scansion. Note that - is a long syllable, u a short syllable, and U is either one long syllable or two short syllables:
The form was felt by the ancients to contrast the rising action of the first verse with a falling quality in the second. The sentiment is summarized in a line from Ovid's Amores I.1.27 Sex mihi surgat opus numeris, in quinque residat - "Let my work rise in six steps, fall back in five." The effect is illustrated by Coleridge as:
The elegiac couplet is presumed to be the oldest Greek form of epodic poetry (a form where a later verse is sung in response or comment to a previous one). Scholars, who even in the past did not know who created it, theorize the form was originally used in Ionian dirges, with the name "elegy" derived from the Greek ε, λεγε ε, λεγε - "Woe, cry woe, cry!" Hence, the form was used initially for funeral songs, typically accompanied by an aulos, a double-reed instrument. Archilochus expanded use of the form to treat other themes, such as war, travel, or homespun philosophy. Between Archilochus and other imitators, the verse form became a common poetic vehicle for conveying any strong emotion.
Coco Lee tragically took her own life in her Hong Kong apartment on July 2 ... At the entrance of the flower shop near the funeral parlor, many flower baskets and wreaths were seen printed with the elegiac couplet "Coco Lee will be remembered forever.".
Both would hold 40 to 45 gallons ... And, more telling still, his works were often graced with his poetry, whether pragmatic couplets relaying a jug’s capacity or elegiac verses reflecting on long-lost relations ... The Charleston Museum/Provided ... “H ... 5 ... .