Ovid Metamorphoses Scan 89-100

Latin Latin Poetry
1

I have an exam on Friday morning, I should know this, however I’m having some issues
I’m definitely a noob :cry:

Here’s a pic of my work (brightened it up so it’s visible, damn my handwring looks like bad now xD) click me
Just open it for reference to see what I did since I’m commenting on it below.

Here’s the text if you can’t read some of my handwriting.
Metamorphoses I

In 91

poena metusque aberant, nec verba minantia fixo

I literally have no idea how to do the beginning
I thought the 5th foot is always a dactyl?
But I got a spondee because the first A is followed by nt, which should mean it’s long
I is not a vowel since it’s followed by a vowel (a)

93 beginning

iudicis ora sui, sed erant sine vindice tuti.

95

montibus in liquidas pinus descenderat undas,

liqui and ibus I have no idea

Also, in 96 I wrote sua with 2 short on u and a, looks very wrong, is it? :smiley:

98

non tuba derecti, non aeris cornua flexi,

Cornua same thing as 96, is it ua correct?

99

non galeae, non ensis erat: sine militis usu

nensis erat sine is the part I didn’t get
And 100

mollia securae peragebant otia gentes.

mollia securae perage
o long, ae long, and I know nothing else
I is not a vowel xD

Any help appreciated :slight_smile:

I’ll type my work below if the image is a problem, just hit me up, need help :slight_smile:

2

mi-nan-ti-a is the syllabification. υ _ υ υ

Spondees sometimes do occur in the fifth foot, but that happens rarely and when it does it’s a special effect.

non galeae, non ensis erat is not quite right (galeae, not galae), nor is peragebant otia gentes.

You got one non right–that should be a clue to the other one.

-ia is usually scanned as two syllables, with short -i-.

You’re generally on the right track, but I’m reluctant to give you more help at this point. You need to do a little more work on this on your own.

3

We’ll solve your problems for you after your exam. Post again then to remind us. Meanwhile, for your pains, we will tell you that –ia can scan as two shorts.

EDIT. Well so much for that. Hylander has given you the help. You should tell your teacher.

4

How come i isn’t a consonant?

Okay, so that makes

non gale|ae, no|n ensis erat: sine| militis| usu
_ υ υ| _ _ | ? | _ υ υ|_ _

mollia| secur|ae pera|gebant|otia|gentes
_ υυ? |_ _ | _ υ υ | |_ _ | _ υ υ| _ _

5

I’m not asking you to solve my problems for me, I’m asking you to teach me :smiley:
It’s a section dedicated to learning latin, right? :slight_smile:

6

Well, you seem to be learning. So far, what you have now is right.

Try it again until you have the whole passage scanned. Use a dictionary and a grammar to determine the vowel quantities you don’t know off-hand. And then take note and remember the quantities.

Once you have the whole passage scanned, post your solution, and we’ll tell you whether anything is wrong. Once you get it right, post a translation so that we can make sure you understand it, and we’ll give you some pointers on reading Latin hexameters.

Then read the whole passage several times, giving effect to longs and shorts, so that you get it in your ear. Once you have the rhythm in your ear, it will be much easier to scan.

You should also mark of the caesuras–have you been taught how to do that yet? If not, we’ll show you how.

-i- is a consonant between vowels; otherwise, it’s generally (although not exclusively) treated as a vowel.

I think the “Golden Age” was the passage on which I learned to scan hexameters in 1961, I think.

7

I don’t want to ask dumb questions, but I can’t find anything that could help me in the dictionary

8

The dictionary and a grammar will give you the quantity of vowels.

9

10

Get a better dictionary. E.g., Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary

11

True, though L&S has no more vowel lengths marked for ensis (even though the lemma is bigger).

12

You can use this on-line grammar to look up vowel quantities in declensions and conjugations:

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0001&redirect=true

It’s difficult to use, however. Alternatively, your textbook should mark the quantities.

13

L&S has no more vowel lengths marked for ensis

If vowels are not marked with a macron, you can assume that they are short for present purposes.

14

I know, I was just putting myself in Kristijan’s place there: the information on vowel lengths is the same in those two dictionaries (on the word ensis).

Always when learning a new language, one also needs to learn how to use a dictionary for it (the practices and customs will often be similar in different dictionaries for, say, Latin).

15

I’ve tried a couple of words, dunno how to see the quantity of vowels

In the textbook I only have words inside the textboox, not for Metamorphoses :mrgreen:

16

Kristijan, Hylander was talking about “vowel quantities in declensions and conjugations”. Your textbook should show them.

17

Kiki has evidently been taught that a vowel followed by two consonants scans long. In her/his first post, on minantia: “the first A is followed by nt, which should mean it’s long.” So ENSis can be correctly scanned without knowing about the E itself.

I fear we may be sowing confusion.

18

dunno how to see the quantity of vowels

Click on Lewis & Short or Elem. Lewis. Those are dictionaries.

And, as mwh reminded you, don’t forget the rule that a vowel followed by two consonants scans as long.

19

And this happens even when the second consonant starts a new word… :open_mouth:

There are actually plenty of online resources for learning dactylic hexameter that can supplement your classroom experience:

http://www.skidmore.edu/academics/classics/courses/metrica/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYD1zTfTHMY

20

click me

A friend sent me this, however I’m confused how can iudicis and ensis start with a short, how are there parts that aren’t a spondee nor a dactyl

Is this correct?