Elicision

Latin Learning Latin
1

For this line… which is dactylic hexameter…

when figuring out the feet and how the meter goes… would you elight the O’s because they fall before H’s ? I am wondering if there is a general rule whether you would leave them, or not, since it is vocative.

Hymen O Hymenaee, Hymen ades O Hymenaee!


Hymen (O) Hymenaee, Hymen ades (O) Hymenaee!

2

Usually long vowels and diphthongs are not elided, and elision is always optional. You certainly wouldn’t want to elide “O” because then you wouldn’t have anything left of the word!