Dactylic
hexameter (also known as "heroic hexameter") is a form of
meter in poetry or a rhythmic scheme. It is traditionally associated with the quantitative meter of classical
epic poetry in both
Greek and
Latin. The premier examples of its use are
Homer's
Iliad and
Odyssey and
Virgil's
Aeneid.The meter consists of lines made from six ("hexa")
feet. In strict dactylic hexameter, each of these feet would be
dactyl, but classical meter allows for the substitution of a
spondee in place of a dactyl in most positions. Specifically, the first four feet can either be dactyls or spondees more or less freely. The fifth foot is frequently a dactyl (around 95% of the time in Homer). The sixth foot is always a spondee, though it may be
anceps. Thus the dactylic line most normally looks as follows (note that - is a long syllable, u a short syllable and U either one long or two shorts):- U | - U | - U | - U | - u u | - -
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