Metres of Roman comedy

Brevis brevians (iambic shortening)

The prosody and grammar of Plautus and Terence differ slightly from that of later poets such as Virgil and Ovid, and they tend to follow the rhythms of spoken Latin rather than literary rules. One such difference is the phenomenon of brevis brevians or "iambic shortening", in which an iambic rhythm (u –) can change to a pyrrhic (u u), provided that the long syllable is unstressed and does not coincide with a long element in the metre. (The meaning of brevis brevians is "a short syllable which shortens (a following long one)".)^[13]

For example, apúd me "at my house", in its normal pronunciation where púd is accented, will be scanned (u – –) as expected, but apŭd mé "at my house" (with emphasis on mé) is scanned (u u –).^[2]

In some examples, a stressed syllable immediately follows the iamb: Iovĭs iússu, volŏ scíre, minŭs qu(am) úllus, volŭptás mea; in others, the stressed syllable is further away: quíd ĕst? quid métuis?, hábĕs quod fácias, tíb(i) hŏc praecípio, háud mală (e)st múlier.

As a rule, brevis brevians is commonly found when a long element is resolved into two short ones;^[14] it is also common in the double short element in an anapaest (u u –), as in vidĕn hanc?. Less frequently, it is found in the second and third syllables of the sequence u u u –, as in nullá mihĭ rés or út egŏ núnc. It cannot be found when the long syllable of the iamb coincides with a long element of the metre, as in si amant (u u –) (anapaests) or in quia cúltr(um) habés; cocúm decét (uu – u – u – u –) (iambics).

It has been speculated that a condition for brevis brevians is that the first syllable of the sequence u – should not have full stress, but that rather, in a phrase such as volŏ scíre, the first word must become de-stressed before the brevis brevians can take place.^[15]

Although iambic shortening is common in iambo-trochaic metres and anapaests, it is almost never found in cretics or bacchiacs.^[16]

Elision

Elision (the removal or partial removal of a final vowel when the next word starts with a vowel or h) is "far more frequent and various in Plautus and Terence than in other Latin verse-writers".^[17] For example, the trochaic septenarii lines which follow:

áttat! íllic húc itúrust. íbo ego íllic óbviám,

néque ego hunc hóminem huc hódie ad áedis hás sinam úmquam accéderé^[18]

are pronounced approximately as:

áttat! íllĭc húc itúrust. / íb' eg' íllīc óbviám,

néqu' eg' hunc hómin' huc hódi' ad áedis / hás sin' úmqu' accéderé

| – u – – | – u – – || – u – – | – u – |

| uu u uu – | uu u – – || – u – – | – u – |

"Aha! here he comes; I will go to meet him,

nor shall I ever allow this man to come here near to this house today."

Note that a final syllable ending in -m (such as in hominem or umquam) will also be elided. Long open monosyllables such as de, quae, hi, dum, quom, rem are sometimes totally elided, and sometimes merely shortened.^[19][20]

How exactly an elision was pronounced is unknown. It is possible that a short vowel was completely omitted. When a long vowel was involved, however, it is probable that an element of it could still be heard,^[21] for example in the following line, where complete omission might cause ambiguity:^[22]

óptum(o) óptum(e) óptum(am) óperam / dás, datám pulchré locás

| – u – u | – u uu – || – u – – | – u – |

"You are giving an excellent service excellently for the most Excellent; and you will be rewarded well for your gift."

Sometimes in Plautus (but not in Terence)^[23] there can be a hiatus (i.e. no elision) between vowels at the break between the two halves of a verse, that is after the fifth element of a senarius or the 8th element of a septenarius. There can also be brevis in longo at this point. But frequently at the break there is no hiatus but an elision. Elision can also take place when there is a change of speaker in the middle of a line.

Prodelision

Prodelision (the removal of the first vowel of est or es) is also common, for example pugnatumst for pugnatum est and ituru'st for iturus est.^[14]

Synizesis

Quite commonly in Plautus the two adjacent vowels in words such as eosdem, ni(h)il, eum, eo, huius, eius, cuius, mi(h)i, meas, tuom were merged into one syllable by a process known as synizesis. However, if it suited the metre, they could also be kept separate.

Other points

Vowels which later became shortened before -t, -l, or -r retained their length in Plautus, e.g. velīt, habēt, labōr, habitāt, mātēr, etc.^[24] The word miles was still pronounced miless.^[25]

Plautus also made use of alternative forms, such as sim/siem, dem/duim, surpio/surripio, dixti/dixisti, malim/mavelim, ille/illĭc, me/med, te/ted, hau/haud, when it suited his metre.^[26] In words ending in -us, such as fluctibu(s), the -s could be omitted.

Words of the rhythm | u u u x |, such as malitia or facilius, appear usually to have been stressed on the first syllable in both poets.^[27]

A mute plus liquid consonant (e.g. tr in patrem) did not make the previous syllable long in Plautus or Terence. Some words ending in -e, such as nempe, unde could be pronounced nemp’, und’ before a consonant.^[14]

The pronoun hic "this man", which was later pronounced hicc,^[28] was still pronounced with a single c in Plautus. The combinations hic quidem and si quidem can be pronounced with a short vowel in the first syllable, i.e. either | u u – | or | – u – |.^[14][29]

Verse ictus and accent

There is some controversy among scholars over whether Greek and Latin verse had a regular "beat" (ictus) like modern western music.^[30] On one side, supporting the idea of ictus, are scholars such as W. Sidney Allen,^[31] Lionel Pearson,^[32] and from an earlier generation Wallace Lindsay.^[33] However, many scholars, such as Paul Maas, Italian Plautus expert Cesare Questa, and the Loeb edition editor Wolfgang de Melo argue that there was no beat or "ictus"; in their view, rhythm is "simply the regulated sequence of short and long syllables".^[14] Similarly, Benjamin Fortson writes: "The theory that there was a verse-ictus, never universally accepted, has by now been thoroughly discredited."^[34] Gratwick, in his edition of the Menaechmi, takes an intermediate position, rejecting "both the Anglo-German view that the lines are isochronous with a regular metrical beat attached to every longum, and the Franco-Italian view that there is no ictus at all in such verses".^[35]

One fact which is generally agreed on is that in iambic and trochaic metres, there was usually a fairly strong agreement between where the ictus is assumed to be and the accent of the words. Thus in iambics a word-accent is generally heard on the 2nd, 4th, 6th and 8th elements of the line:

Ne quís mirétur quí sim, páucis éloquár.^[36]

| – – – – | – – – – | – – u – |

"In case anyone is wondering who I am, let me explain briefly."

Whereas in trochaics, the accent is usually heard on the 1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th elements:

vívo fít quod númquam quísquam / mórtuó faciét mihí.^[37]

| – – – – | – – – – || – u – uu | – u – |

"It's happening to me alive what no one will ever do to me when I am dead!"

Thus even though both lines begin with a series of long syllables, it is immediately obvious on reading them that the first is iambic and second trochaic. Those who argue that there is no ictus say that, given that there is generally a word-break (caesura) after the 5th element of the iambic senarius, the word accents tend to fall naturally on the second and fourth elements rather than on the anceps elements.^[38] In the final metron, there is often a clash between ictus and accent.

Another question is whether, if there was a perceptible beat, it was heard at regular intervals as in modern western music, or irregularly. Gratwick argues that the ictus was not isochronous, but that the timing depended on whether the anceps syllables were long or short.^[35] His view is that so far from attempting to make the word accent match the ictus, Roman writers often deliberately tried to avoid such coincidence, especially at the beginning and end of the line, to avoid monotony.

Another point of interest is whether, if there was a beat, there was one beat per foot or one every metron (group of two feet). As far as Ancient Greek poetry was concerned, "Ancient discussions of the trochaic tetrameter and similar metres repeatedly refer to one percussio per metron" (Moore).^[39] Whether this also applied to Latin, where for example Horace describes the senarius as having six beats per line (senos ictus),^[40] is unclear. Should the following trochaic septenarius be read with eight beats, for example?

nónn(e) hac nóctu nóstra návis / húc ex pórtu Pérsicó

Or is it better to read it with four beats, as follows?

nónn(e) hac noctu nóstra navis / húc ex portu Pérsico

After examining the evidence Moore comes to the conclusion that in Roman comedy, the pipe-player (tibicen) "provided some emphasis to all strong elements, maintaining the sense of feet, but that the "beats" on the odd-numbered feet were stronger."^[39] Similarly Gratwick, although marking all the ictus-syllabus with sublinear dots, recommends that the 1st, 3rd, and 5th ictus-positions be given a stronger sound when reading a line, unless occupied by a definitely unstressed syllable, in which case the natural word-stress should be preferred.^[41]

Various illustrations from the time of the Roman empire show a tibicen wearing a sort of clapper, called a scabillum, on one foot. One such mosaic, showing a tibicen accompanying a dancer, is illustrated in Moore's book Music in Roman Comedy.^[42] Cicero mentions the word in connection with a mime performance.^[43] However, there is no evidence that such a clapper was used to accompany Roman comedies.

Following the example of Gratwick in his edition of the Menaechmi edition, and Barsby in his edition of Terence's Eunuchus, the position of the strong element in each foot in the iambo-trochaic metres is marked in this article, but with an accent rather than a sublinear dot. It is argued that this can help the reader with syllable division, the recognition of elisions, and division into feet.^[44] This is especially so in lines such as the following iambic septenarius (Terence Phormio 820), where the three elisions (s(um), ses(e), fratr(i)), the brevis brevians (utŭt), and the pronunciation of meae as one syllable by synizesis make the rhythm of the line difficult for the untrained reader unless the ictus is marked:

laetús s(um), utŭt meáe res sés(e) habént, / fratr(i) óptigísse quód volt.

| – – uu – | – – u – || – – u – | u – – |

"I am happy, however my own situation may be, that things have turned out for my brother as he wishes."

Iambic senarius

Used for the prologues of plays and for the more serious speeches, the iambic senarius (ia6) is the commonest metre in Roman comedy^[45] and is the only metre which was unaccompanied by music. It is commoner in Terence than in Plautus.

The Latin line is based on the Greek iambic trimeter, which goes as follows (in the notation used here, – is a long syllable, u a short one, and x an anceps, that is, either long or short):

| x – u – | x – u – | x – u – |

The Latin equivalent of this is slightly different and has anceps syllables in place of the first and second shorts:

| x – x – | x – x – | x – u – |

However, the various anceps syllables in the line are not equal. Those in the 3rd and 7th positions are long (or double short) in about 60% of lines; those in 1st and 5th positions are long in 80% of lines; and the one in the 9th position is long in 90% of lines.^[46] Therefore, what was a short syllable in Greek (i.e. positions 3 and 5) is more often than not long in Latin, but less likely to be long than what was an anceps in the Greek line.

As well as | – – | and | u – |, the group | x – | can be replaced by a dactyl | – uu | or by an anapaest | uu – |, except in the last two positions in the line. In the scansions below, a double short syllable replacing a long one is marked "uu". As a rule, in iambics, the dactyl is much commoner than the anapaest, and the reverse is true in trochaics; that is to say, it is much commoner for a longum syllable to be replaced by two short syllables than for an anceps to be replaced.^[47] The final element of the line is always a single syllable, either long or brevis in longo.

In most (but not all) iambic senarius lines there is a word-break or caesura after the fifth element, corresponding to the dieresis in the centre of the trochaic septenarius. However, as can be seen from the examples below, there is usually no break in the sense at this point. The main effect of this break is that the fourth element of the line usually coincides with the word-accent.

The iambic senarius is often used for exposition and explaining a situation, for example in the prologue of almost every play, such as Plautus's Amphitruo:^[48]

Haec úrbs est Théb(ae). in íllisc(e) hábitāt áedibús

Amphítruo, nátus Árgis éx Argó patré,

quic(um) Álcuména (e)st núpt(a), Eléctri fíliá.

is núnc Amphítruo práefectúst legiónibús,

nam cúm Telebóis béllum (e)st Thébanó popló.

| – –  –  –  | – – – uu | –  – u – |
| – uu –  –  | u – – –  | –  – u – |
| – –  u  –  | – – – –  | –  – u – |
| – –  –  uu | – – – –  | uu – u – |
| – –  uu –  | – – – –  | –  – u – |

"This city is Thebes. In that house lives

Amphitruo, born in Argos from an Argive father,

with whom Alcmena is married, daughter of Electer (Electryon).

This Amphitruo is now in command of the legions,

for the Theban people are having a war with the Teleboans."

Note that the accents above indicate the presumed underlying ictūs or "beats", not necessarily the stressed syllables. (As noted above, the existence of ictus is not accepted by all scholars.) Where the word accent is at odds with the ictus, it is more natural to follow the accent (just as is the case when reading Virgil).^[49] Occasionally, however, an apparent clash between ictus and accent may indicate the actual pronunciation; for example, it is believed that the phrase volŭptás mea "my darling" was pronounced with the accent on -tas. Similarly, vae miseró mihi "o wretched me!" appears to have been pronounced with the accent on -ro.^[50]

The iambic senarius is also used for dialogue, especially when old men are speaking (6235 out of 7659 lines spoken by old men, that is more than 80% of their dialogue, are in this metre).^[51] An example is the following extract from Terence's Andria (35-39) spoken by the old man Simo to his freedman Sosia:

ego póstquam t(e) ém(i), a párvol(o) út sempér tibí

apúd me iúst(a) et clémens fúerit sérvitús

scis. féc(i) ex sérv(o) ut ésses líbertús mihí,

proptérea quód servíbas líberálitér:

quod hábui súmmum prétium pérsolví tibí.

| uu –  –  – | –  –  u  –  | –  –  u  – |
| u  –  –  – | –  –  –  uu | –  –  u  – |
| –  –  –  – | u  –  –  –  | –  –  u  – |
| –  uu –  – | –  –  –  –  | u  –  u  – |
| –  uu –  – | –  uu –  –  | –  –  u  – |

"After I bought you, how from childhood onwards

your servitude with me was always just and mild,

you know. From a slave I made you to be my freedman,

because you used to serve me generously.

I paid the highest price which I had for you."

| –  –  u  – | –  –  –  uu | –  –  u  – |

| u  –  –  – | –  –  –  –  | –  –  u  – |

Iambic septenarius

| x – x – | x – u – || x – x – | x – – |

The character of this metre is different from the iambic senarius or trochaic septenarius. In Plautus there almost always a break (diaeresis) in the middle of the line. Unless the diaeresis (central break) is omitted, then by Meyer's law there is always a short syllable in the penultimate place before the break.^[71] At the end of the line there is always a stress on the penultimate element.

Although not so frequent as the senarius, the iambic septenarius (ia7) is also reasonably common in Roman comedy. Certain characters and plays use this metre more than others; in Plautus' Pseudolus, for example, there are only ten lines of iambic septenarius, occurring in sections of one or two lines; but in Rudens there are 204 lines, in Miles Gloriosus 211, and in Asinaria 322. In Amphitruo this metre does not occur at all.

The iambic septenarius is sometimes known as the "laughing metre".^[71] A typical use is the light-hearted banter of the two cunning slaves, Leonida and Libanus, in Plautus's Aulularia, when ribbing each other. Here Leonida speaks:^[72]

Edepól virtútes quí tuás / non póssis cónlaudáre

sic út ego póssim, quáe domí / duellíque mále fecísti.

n(e) ill(a) édepol pró meritó tuó / memorári múlta póssunt

ubi fídentém fraudáverís, / ub(i) er(o) ínfidélis fúerīs,

ubi vérbis cónceptís sciéns / libénter périurárīs,

ubi párietés perfóderís, / in fúrt(o) ubi sís prehénsus,

ubi sáepe cáusam díxerís / pendéns advérsus ócto

artútos, áudacís virós, / valéntis vírgatóres!

| uu –  –  – | – –  u – || –  –  –  –  | –  –  – | ia7
| –  uu –  – | – –  u – || –  –  u  uu | –  –  – |
| –  uu –  – | – uu u – || uu –  –  –  | u  –  – |
| uu –  –  – | – –  u – || uu –  u  –  | –  uu – |
| uu –  –  – | – –  u – || u  –  –  –  | –  –  – |
| uu –  u  – | – –  u – || –  –  uu –  | u  –  – |
| uu –  u  – | – –  u – || –  –  –  –  | u  –  – |
| –  –  –  – | – –  u – || u  –  –  –  | –  –  – |

"By Pollux, you could not praise your own virtues

as well as I could, all those things which at home or in war you've done wrong!

Indeed, by Pollux, there are a lot of things that can be mentioned to your credit:

when you defrauded those who trusted you, when you were unfaithful to your master,

when you deliberately perjured yourself with invented words,

when you made holes in walls, when you were caught stealing,

and all the times you pleaded your case when hanging in front of eight

burly bold men, sturdy whippers!"

In Terence this metre is often used by love-struck young men, as in the following exchange (Heautontimorumenos 679-89) between the young man Clinia and the cunning slave, Syrus:

CLI. Nullá mihĭ rés posthác potést / i(am) intérveníre tánta

quae m(i) áegritúdin(em) ádferát: / tant(a) háec laetíti(a) obórtast.

dedó patrí me núnci(am) út / frugáliór sim quám volt!

SYR. nil mé feféllit: cógnitást, / quant(um) áudi(o) húiu' vérba.

istúc tib(i) éx senténtiá / tu(a) óbtigísse láetor.

CLI. o mí Syr(e), áudist(i) óbsecró? / SYR. quidní? qu(i) usqu(e) ún(a) adfúerim.

CLI. quo(i) áequ(e) audísti cómmodé / quicqu(am) évenísse? SYR. núlli!

CLI. atqu(e) íta me dí ament út ego núnc / non tám meápte cáusa

laetór qu(am) illíu'; qu(am) égo sci(o) éss(e) / honóre quóvis dígnam.

SYR. ita crédo. séd nunc, Clíniá, / age, dá te míhĭ vicíssim;

n(am) amíci quóque res ést vidénd(a) / in tút(um) ut cónlocétur.

| –  uu u  –  | –  –  u  – || –  –  u  –  | u  –  – | ia7
| –  –  u  –  | u  –  u  – || –  –  –  uu | u  –  – |
| –  –  u  –  | –  –  u  – || –  –  u  –  | –  –  – |
| –  –  u  –  | –  –  u  – || –  –  u  –  | u  –  – |
| –  –  u  –  | –  –  u  – || u  –  u  –  | u  –  – |
| –  –  u  –  | –  –  u  – || –  –  –  –  | –  uu – |
| –  –  –  –  | –  –  u  – || –  –  –  –  | u  –  – |
| –  uu –  uu | –  uu u  – || –  –  u  –  | u  –  – |
| –  –  –  –  | u  uu u  – || u  –  u  –  | –  –  – |
| uu –  –  –  | –  –  u  – || uu –  –  uu | –  –  – |
| u  –  –  uu | –  –  u  – || –  –  –  –  | u  –  – |

CLI. Nothing in future can ever happen to me so bad

that it might bring me ill, so great is this happiness that has arisen!

I will surrender myself to my father from now on and live even more frugally than he wishes!

SYR. (aside) I was right! She has been recognised, as far as I understand from these words.

(aloud) I'm delighted that that has turned out as you wished!

CLI. O my Syrus, did you hear, do tell me! SYR. How could I not? I was there with you.

CLI. Have you ever heard anything turn out so well for anyone? SYR. No, no one!

CLI. And so may the gods love me, I am now delighted not so much for my own sake

as for hers, whom I know to be worthy of any honour.

SYR. I am sure you’re right. But now, Clinia, listen to me in turn;

for we must do something about your friend’s affair too to make sure it is secure.

In Plautus, there is usually a clean break between the two halves of the line, and this is often true of Terence too. However, sometimes Terence smooths over the break with an elision, or even omits the break altogether.^[73]

Iambic octonarius

| x – x – | x – u – || x  – x – | x – u – |
| x – x – | x – x – |  x  – x – | x – u – |

The iambic octonarius has two kinds, one with a break in the middle of the line, as the first pattern above. But often, instead of a mid-line break, there is a caesura or word-break 7 elements before the end of the line, so that apart from the extra syllable at the beginning, this kind somewhat resembles a trochaic septenarius.

When the break is in the middle of the line, there may be brevis in longo (a short syllable standing for a long element) at that point, as in the word ingerĕ in the first of the two lines below:

tu qu(i) úrn(am) habés, aqu(am) íngeré; / face plén(um) ahénum sít coquó;

te cúm secúri, cáudicáli práefició provínciáe.^[74]

| – – u – | u – u – || uu – u  – | – – u – | ia8
| – – u – | – – u – |  –  – uu – | – – u – |

"You who have the jar, bring in some water; make sure the pot is full for the cook;

you with the axe I'm putting in charge of the wood-cutting province."

Often the iambic octonarius and the trochaic septenarius are mixed in the same passage, although the trochaic septenarius, being shorter, is a faster metre and is often associated with onward movement of the plot.^[75]

The iambic octonarius is used more often by Terence (885 lines) than by Plautus (382 lines). In Terence's Eunuchus, this metre is particularly associated with one of the two brothers, Chaerea, who has 88 lines in this metre.^[73] The following passage from Terence's Adelphoe ("The Brothers") is sung by another of two brothers, Ctesipho, as he enters the stage:^[76]

Abs quívis hómine, cúm (e)st opús, / benefíci(um) accípere gáudeás:

ver(um) énimver(o) íd demúm iuvát, / si, qu(em) áequum (e)st fácer(e), is béne facít.

o fráter fráter, quíd ego núnc / te láudem? sátĭs certó sció;

nunqu(am) íta magnífice quícquam díc(am) / id vírtus quín superét tuá.

itaqu(e) ún(am) hanc rém m(e) habére práeter álios práecipu(am) árbitrór,

fratr(em) hómini némin(i) ésse prímar(um) ártiúm magis príncipém.

| –  –  – uu | u –  u – || uu uu – uu | u  –  u – | ia8
| –  uu – –  | – –  u – || –  –  – uu | –  uu u – |
| –  –  – –  | – uu u – || –  –  – uu | –  –  u – |
| –  uu – uu | – –  – – || –  –  – –  | uu –  u – |
| uu –  – –  | u –  u – |  u  uu – –  | uu –  u – |
| –  uu – –  | u –  u – |  –  –  u –  | uu –  u – |

"From any man, when there's a need, you would be glad to receive a favour,

but in truth what is really nice is if someone does one who ought to do it.

O brother, brother, how can I praise you enough? One thing I know for sure,

I shall never be able to speak highly enough of your virtue.

And so I think I have this one thing above all more than anyone else,

that no man has a brother more endowed with the highest qualities!"

The iambic octonarius apparently was often used in Roman tragedy for messenger speeches,^[77] and in Plautus it is often used by slave messengers, as in this account of the aftermath of a battle in Plautus's Amphitruo (256-261) sung by the slave Sosia. In this style the lines run smoothly on, without any central dieresis:

postrídi(e) ín castr(a) éx urb(e) ád nos véniunt fléntes príncipés:

velátis mánibus órant ígnoscámus péccatúm suóm,

dedúntque sé, divín(a) humánaqu(e) ómni(a), úrb(em) et líberós

in dícion(em) átqu(e) in árbitrátum cúncti Thébanó popló.

post ób virtút(em) er(o) Ámphitruóni pátera dónat(a) áureá (e)st,

qui Ptérela pótitáre sólitus ést rex. háec sic díc(am) eráe.

| – –  u –  | – – –  –  | – uu – – | – – u – | ia8
| – –  – uu | – – –  –  | – –  – – | – – u – |
| – –  u –  | – – –  –  | u –  u – | – – u – | 
| – uu – –  | u – u  –  | – –  – – | – – u – |
| – –  – –  | u – uu –  | – uu u – | – – u – |
| – uu u –  | u – u  uu | u –  – – | – – u – |

"The next day into our camp from the city the chiefs came to us weeping;

with veiled hands they begged us to forgive their wrong-doing,

and they surrendered themselves, and all divine and human things, the city and their children

all for jurisdiction and judgment to the Theban people.

Afterwards on account of his courage my master Amphitruo was given a gold cup,

with which King Pterela used to drink. This is what I shall tell the mistress."

Trochaic septenarius

| – x – x | – x – x || – x – x | – u – |

The second most common metre in Roman comedy in terms of lines (or the commonest, in terms of the number of words) is the trochaic septenarius (tr7). Like the other long iambic and trochaic lines, it is believed to have been chanted to the music of the tibiae (double pipes). There is usually a diaeresis in the centre of the line, and there may sometimes also be a hiatus (lack of elision) or brevis in longo (a short syllable made long by position) at this point. Trochaic lines generally start with a word which is stressed on the first syllable, making it clear that the line has a trochaic not an iambic rhythm.

According to an ancient metrical theory, the Greek version of this metre (trochaic tetrameter catalectic) was composed of an iambic trimeter with a cretic foot (– u –) added at the beginning. This seems to be true of the Latin trochaic septenarius too: the word break (dieresis or caesura) is in the same place seven elements before the end of the line, and Meyer's law and the locus Jacobsohnianus apply in the same way to both lines.^[78]

In the following passage the god Mercury, disguised as the slave Sosia, is preventing the real Sosia from entering his own house:

M. Híc homo sánus nón est. S. Quód mihi / práedĭcás viti(um), íd tibí (e)st.

quíd, malúm, non súm ego sérvos / Ámphitruónis Sósiá?

nónn(e) hac nóctu nóstra návis / húc ex pórtu Pérsicó

vénit, quáe m(e) advéxit? nónne | m(e) húc erús misít meús?

nónn(e) ego núnc st(o) ant(e) áedes nóstras? / nón m(i) est lántern(a) ín manú?

nón loquŏr, nón vigiló? nonn(e) híc homo / módo me púgnis cóntudít?

fécit hércle, n(am) étiam mísero / núnc mihí māláe dolént.

quíd igitúr ego dúbit(o), aut cúr non / íntr(o) e(o) ín nostrám domúm?

| uu u  –  – | –  – –  – || –  u  – uu| – u – |
| –  u  –  – | uu u –  – || –  uu – – | – u – |
| –  –  –  – | –  u –  – || –  –  – – | – u – |
| –  –  –  – | –  – –  – || –  u  – – | – u – |
| –  uu –  – | –  – –  – || –  –  – – | – u – |
| –  uu –  uu| –  – uu – || uu –  – – | – u – |
| –  –  –  u | uu – uu – || –  u  – – | – u – |
| uu u  uu u | uu – –  – || –  u  – – | – u – |

MER. This man isn't sane! SOS. The fault that you are preaching about me is yours!

What, dammit, aren't I Amphitruo's slave Sosia?

Didn't our ship come here last night from the Persian port,

which brought me? Didn't my master send me here?

Am I not standing in front of our house? Isn't there a lantern in my hand?

Am I not talking? Am I not awake? Didn't this man just punch me with his fists?

He did, by Hercules! Since my wretched jaw is still aching!

So what am I waiting for? Why don't I go into our house?

In the centre of the trochaic septenarius line (corresponding to the caesura in the iambic senarius) there is usually a word-break, and in Plautus (though not in Terence) there is sometimes a hiatus (lack of elision) at this point, as in the second line below:^[23]

Fáciam quód iubés; secúrim / cápi(am) ancípit(em), atqu(e) húnc seném

ósse fíni dédolábo / ássulátim víscerá.^[79]

| uu – – u | – u – – || uu – uu – | – u – |
| –  u – – | – u – – || –  u –  – | – u – |

I'll do what you order; I'll get a two-bladed axe and I'll hack off

this old man's meat as far as his bones and chop his guts to pieces.

However, there is frequently an elision at this point, and just as in the Greek equivalent of this metre, (the trochaic tetrameter catalectic), some lines have no word-break at the centre point, for example the first and third below:^[80]

décĕt et fácta móresqu(e) húi(u)s habére mé similés itém.

ítaque mé mal(um) éss(e) opórtet, cállid(um), ástut(um) ádmodúm

átqu(e) hunc, télo súo sibí, / malíti(a) a fóribus pélleré.

:| uu – – u | –  – – u |  – u  –  uu | – u – | 
:| uu u – u | –  u – – || – u  –  –  | – u – |
:| –  – – – | uu u – u |  uu – uu –  | – u – |

It is fitting that I should have actions and character similar to this man's,

and so I ought to be wicked, cunning, very astute,

and drive him from the doors with his own weapon, malice!

The same tendencies which apply to the alternating anceps syllables in an iambic senarius also apply in a similar way to a trochaic septenarius, namely that those elements that are always short in Greek (the 1st, 3rd, and 5th anceps syllables) are long in about 60% of lines; while those which are anceps in Greek (namely the 2nd, 4th and 6th anceps in the trochaic septenarius) are long in about 80% to 90% of lines.^[52] Meyer's Law and Luchs' Law also operate in the same places, counting from the end of the line backwards, as in the senarius.

Trochaic octonarius

| – x – x | – x – x || – x – x | – x – – |

Much less frequent is the trochaic octonarius (tr8), which is found in both poets. It is mostly very sporadically used with just a line or two here or there in the midst of other metres. The following four-line stretch comes from Plautus' Pseudolus (161-164), where a pimp is giving instructions to three slave-girls:

tíb(i) hŏc praecípi(o) ut níteant áedes. / hábĕs quod fácias: próper(a), ab(i) íntro.

t(ú) esto léctistérniátōr. / t(ú) argent(um) éluit(o), íd(em) exstrúito.

háec, qu(om) eg(o) á foró revórtar, / fácit(e) ut óffendám paráta,

vórsa spársa, térsa stráta, / láutaqu(e) únctaqu(e) ómni(a) út sint!

| uu – uu – | uu – – – || uu – uu – | uu u – – |

| – – – – | – u – – || – – – uu | – – uu – |

| – u – u | – u – – || uu u – – | – u – – |

| – u – u | – u – u || – u – u | – u – – |

"You, I'm instructing that the house should be sparkling clean. You've been told what to do; hurry up, go inside.

You, be couch-strewer. You, clean the silver and also set it out.

When I come back from the forum, make sure I find everything ready,

and that everything is turned, sprinkled, dusted, strewn, washed, and polished!"

In the above quotation there is a contrast between the anapaestic first two lines, where the double short syllables suggest bustle and hurry, and the last two lines, where the repeated trochaic rhythm emphasises how everything has got to be when it is ready.

Sometimes both in this metre and in the trochaic septenarius the verses split into four equal parts (the so-called "square" verse), as in the last line above.^[81]

In Terence lines of trochaic octonarii (interspersed with trochaic septenarii) tend to occur in clusters at moments of great emotional intensity, such as at Hecyra 516-34.^[82]

A common pattern in both poets, but especially in Terence, is for trochaic octonarii to be followed first by one or two lines of trochaic septenarii, then by one or more iambic octonarii. This tr8-tr7-ia8 pattern occurs 48 times in Terence, and 6 times in Plautus.^[83]

Anapaestic septenarius

This metre is used only by Plautus. It is a catalectic metre in which the last foot is shortened to a single long element. The basic scheme is theoretically:

| u u – u u – | u u – u u – || u u – u u – | u u – – |

The anapaestic foot | u u – | is frequently replaced by a spondee | – – | or a dactyl | – u u |. In the first half of the line, as in the anapaestic octonarius, the word-accent generally comes on the beginning of each foot. However, in the second half the stress tends to swing the other way, with the accent on the second half of each foot.

Apart from a long stretch of 82 lines in Miles Gloriosus, this metre is usually used sparingly, often with just a line or two mixed with other anapaestic metres. Frequently those who speak in this metre are old men or women. Here is a passage from the Bacchides (1160–65) where two old men, Nicobulus and Philoxenus, are talking:

NIC. sed quid ĭstuc est? etsi i(am) eg(o) ĭpsus / quid sit probĕ scire puto me;

ver(um) audir(e) eti(am) ex te studeo. / PHIL. Vidĕn hanc? NIC. Vide(o). PHIL. Haud mală (e)st mulier.

NIC. Pol ver(o) ista mal(a) et tu nihili. / PHIL. Quid mult(a)? eg(o) am(o). NIC. An amas? PHIL. Nai gar. (Ναὶ γάρ)

NIC. Tun, homŏ pūtid(e), amātōr istac / fier(i) aetat(e) audes? PHIL. Qui non?

NIC. Quia flāgitium (e)st. PHIL. Quid opust verbis? / meo filio non s(um) iratus,

neque te tuŏst aequ(om) ess(e) iratum: / sĭ amant, sapienter faciunt.

| – u u – – | – – u u – || – – u u – | u u – – |

| – – – u u | – – u u – || u u – u u – | u u u u – |

| – – – u u | – – u u – || – – u u u u | – – – |

| – u u – u u | – – – – || u u – – – | – – – |

| u u – u u – | u u – – – || u u – u u – | – – – |

| u u – u u – | – – – – || u u – u u – | – u u – |

NIC. "But what's the problem? Even though I myself think I already know full well what it is,

all the same I'm keen to hear it from you. PHIL. D'you see this girl? NIC. I do. PHIL. She's not a bad woman.

NIC. By Pollux, she is a bad one, and you're worthless! PHIL. In short, I'm in love. NIC. You're in love? PHIL. I am indeed.

NIC. You disgusting man, how dare you become a lover at your age! PHIL. Why not?

NIC. Because it's a scandal! PHIL. What need for words? I'm not angry with my son,

and it's not fair that you should be angry with yours. If they're in love, they are doing wisely."

Concerning the longest passage of anapaestic septenarii (Miles Gloriosus 1011-93), Moore notes the close resemblance between the metre in this passage and trochaic septenarii.^[89] The German classicist Marcus Deufert notes that the style of writing in these lines is different from the usual anapaests, in that it is more regular and there are more long syllables. He draws the conclusion that the lines from Miles Gloriosus were recited in the same way as trochaic septenarii, while other anapaestic passages (which usually contain an admixture of other metres) were sung.^[90]

Anapaestic octonarius

| u u – u u – | u u – u u – || u u – u u – | u u – u u – |

Again, substitution of dactyl | – u u | or spondee | – – | for anapaest | u u – | is very common. As in a trochaic line, the word-accent comes regularly on the first syllable of each foot, and unlike in the septenarius, this is true of both halves of the line.

In the following extract from Plautus's Pseudolus (133-7), the pimp Ballio summons his slaves outside to give them instructions to prepare the house for his birthday:

Éxit(e), ágit(e) exít(e), ignávi, / mále habit(i) ét male cónciliáti,

quórum númquam quícquam quoíquam / vénit in mént(em) ut récte fáciant,

quíbus, nis(i) ad hóc exémplum expérior, / nón potest úsur(a) úsurpári.

néqu(e) eg(o) hominés magis ásinos númquam / víd(i), ita plágis cóstae cállent:

quós quom férias, tíbi plus nóceas; / é(o) en(im) ingéni(o) hi súnt flagritríbae.

| – – uu – | – – – – || uu uu – uu | – uu – – |

| – – – – | – – – – || uu – – – | – – uu – |

| uu uu – – | – – uu – || – uu – – | – – – – |

| uu uu – uu | uu – – – || – uu – – | – – – – |

| – – uu – | uu – uu – || uu – uu – | – uu – – |

"Come out, come on, come out, you lazy ones, worthless to own and a waste of money to buy,

To none of whom does it ever come into their mind to do the right thing;

and whom, unless I try this example (uses whip), it's impossible to get any work from them.

I've never seen any men more like donkeys, their ribs are so calloused with blows!

If you hit them you do yourself more harm than them, they're such whip-wearers-out by nature!"

After these five lines of anapaests, Ballio reverts to a mixture of trochaic and iambic lines for the rest of his speech.

The ictus marks above are placed in accordance with the word-accents, rather than on the second half of each foot as is sometimes done.

Anapaestic systems

Anapaestic metra are often used in a long series or "system" where the division into lines is not always clear and may sometimes differ in different manuscript copies.^[91] Usually, however, the metra come in pairs, and in Plautus there is usually a word break at the end of the pair, but not always in the middle.

An example is the following from the Bacchides, where the old man Philobulus comes on stage and sings as follows (the first two lines are anapaestic septenarii):^[92]

Quicumqu(e) ub(i) ubī sunt, qui fuerunt / quique futuri sunt posthac

stulti, stolidi, fatui, fungi, / bardi, blenni, buccones,

solus eg(o) omnīs long(e) antideo

stultiti(a) et moribus indoctis.

perii, pudĕt: hoc(c)ine m(e) aetatis

ludos bis fact(um) ess(e) indigne?

magi(s) qu(am) id reputo, tam magis uror

quae meu(s) filiu(s) turbavit.

perditu(s) s(um) atqu(e) eradicatus s(um),

omnibus exemplis excrucior.

omnia me mala consectantur,

omnibus exitiis interii.

| – – u u – | – – – – || – u u – – | – – – ||

| – – u u – | u u – – – || – – – – | – – – ||

| – u u – – | – – u u – |

| – u u – – | u u – – – |

| u u – u u – | u u – – – |

| – – – – | – – – – |

| u u – u u – | – u u – – |

| – u u – u u | – – – ||

| – u u – – | – – – – |

| – u u – – | – – u u – |

| – u u – u u | – – – – |

| – u u – u u | – – u u – |

Of all that there are anywhere, ever have been, and ever will be in future

stupid people, idiots, nitwits, blockheads, fools, nincompoops and dolts,

I alone surpass them all by a long way

in stupidity and uneducated behaviour.

I'm done for! I'm ashamed! At my age

to have been twice made a fool of so unworthily!

The more I think about it, the more I'm furious

about the confusion my son has caused!

I'm lost! I'm torn up by the root,

I'm tortured in every possible way!

Every evil is catching up with me,

I've died by every kind of death!

Since the short lines above come in couplets, some editors such as Lindsay (Oxford Classical Text) write them as single long lines of octonarii or septenarii.

Bacchiac quaternarius

| x – – | x – – | x – – | x – – |

The bacchiac quaternarius (ba4) is the commonest bacchiac metre. The usual form of the foot is | u – – | or | – – – |, but variations such as | u – uu | and | uu – – | are also found. Sometimes other similar metres are mixed in. There is generally no word break (diaeresis) in the middle of the line.

The bacchiac is used both for humorous songs and for tragic. In the following passage from the Bacchides the prostitute Bacchis and her sister mock the two old men Philoxenus and Nicobulus who have knocked on their door, calling them "sheep":^[96]

SOR. Ecástor sin(e) ómn(i) arbitrór maliti(a) ésse.

PHIL. Merit(o) hóc nobis fít, qui quid(em) húc venerímus!

BACCH. Cogántur quid(em) íntr(o). SOR. Haud sció quid e(o) opús sit,

quae néc lac nec lán(am) ull(am) habént. sic sin(e) ástent.

exsólvēre quánti fuér(e), omni(s) frúctus

i(am) illís dēcidít. non vidés, ut pālántes

soláe liberáe

grasséntur? quin áetate créd(o) esse mútas:

ne bálant quidém, qu(om) a pecú cēter(o) ábsunt.

stult(ae) átqu(e) haud maláe / vidéntur!

SOR. Revórtamur íntro, sorór. NIC. Ílic(o) ámbae

manét(e): haec ovés / volúnt vos.

| u – – | u – – | u – uu | u – – |

| uu – – | – – – | u – – | u – – |

| – – – | u – – | u – uu | u – – |

| – – – | – – – | u – – | u – – |

| – – – | u – – | u – – | – – – |

| – – – | u – – | u – – | – – – |

| – – – | u – |

| – – – | – – – | u – – | u – – |

| – – – | u – – | u – – | u – – |

| – – – | u – || u – – |

| u – – | u – – | u – – | u – – |

| u – – | u – || u – – |

SISTER. By Castor, I think they're perfectly harmless.

PHIL. (aside) We deserve this, since we have come here!

BACCHIS. Let them be driven inside. SIS. I don't know what use that would be,

since they have neither milk nor wool. Let them stand outside.

They've paid all they were worth. All their fruit

has already fallen from them. Don't you see how, they're straggling

and walking about freely

on their own? No, I think they're silent because of their age;

they don't even bleat, even though they're away from the rest of the flock!

They seem stupid and not bad!

SIS. Let's go back inside, sister. – NIC. Wait right there,

both of you! These sheep want you!

The tenth and twelfth lines above illustrate the "syncopated" bacchiac rhythm, where one syllable is omitted from the foot. When this happens, there is generally a word-break after the syncopated foot.^[97]

Bacchiac senarius

Bacchiac rhythms can also be used for serious, contemplative songs, such as Alcumena's lament on the sudden departure of her husband in Plautus's Amphitruo 633ff, which begins:

Satín parva rés est / volúptat(um) in vít(a) atqu(e) / in áetat(e) agúnda

praequám quod moléstum (e)st? / ita quoíqu' comparátum (e)st / in áetate hóminum;

ita dívis est plácitum, / volúptat(em) ut máeror / comés consequátur:

quin íncommodí plus / malíqu(e) ilic(o) ádsit, / boní s(i) optigít quid.

| u – – u – – | u – – – – – | u – – u – – |

| – – – u – – | uu – – u – – | u – – (u) uu – |

| uu – – – uu – | u – – – – – | u – – u – – |

| – – – u – – | u – – u – – | u – – u – – |

Is it not the case that the amount of pleasure in life and in leading our existence is small

in comparison to what is disagreeable? So it has been allotted in each person's life.

So it has pleased the gods, that sadness should follow pleasure as her companion;

On the contrary, that more unpleasantness and evil should immediately follow, if anything nice happens.

It will be noted that in the above quotation there is always a word-break at the end of each metron, so that there is usually a word-stress on the penultimate element of each metron.

This particular metre (the senarius) is very rare, occurring only in this passage. Note that the words in aetat(e) hominum are analysed by Questa as a colon reizianum, rather than a bacchiac with a hiatus after aetate.

Cretic quaternarius

| – x – | – u – || – x – | – u – |

The cretic metre consists of feet usually of the form | – x – |, although occasionally | uu u – | or | – u uu | can be found.^[71] Occasionally, as in lines 5 and 6 of the extract below, feet of other metres are mixed in, such as trochaic. In the quaternarius, there is usually a diaeresis (break) in the middle of the line, although elision may also be found at this point.

The cretic metre seems to have a more epic or tragic quality than the bacchiac. In the following passage, after a long description of preparations for a battle in stately iambic octonarii, the slave Sosia suddenly breaks into cretic quaternarii to describe the excitement of the battle itself (Amphitruo 219-247). The cretic passage begins as follows (note that the fourth and fifth lines contain trochaic elements):

póstqu(am) utrimqu(e) éxitum (e)st / máximā cópiā,

díspertití viri, / díspertit(i) órdines,

nós nostras móre nostr(o) / ét mod(o) instrúximus

légionés, it(em) hóstes cóntra / légionés suăs ínstruónt. (tr7)

déind(e) utriqu(e) ímperatóres ín medi(um) éxeúnt, (cr2+tr2)

éxtrā turb(am) órdinum / cólloquontúr simul.

| – u – | – u – || – u – | – u – |

| – – – | – u – || – – – | – u – |

| – – – | – u – || – u – | – u – |

| uu – – u | – – – – || uu – – uu | – u – | (tr7)

| – u – | – u – | – – – uu | – u – | (cr2 + tr2)

| – – – | – u – || – u – | – u – |

A line with both resolutions (uu u – and – u uu) is Amphitruo 235:

déniqu(e), ut vóluimus, // nóstra superát manus

| – u – | uu u – || – u uu | – u – |

"Finally, as we wanted, our army is winning."

The same metre was also used in Roman tragedies, as in the following quotation from Ennius's Andromacha, cited more than once by Cicero:^[98]

quíd petam práesid(i) aut / éxequar? quóve nunc

áuxilio éxili / áut fugae fréta sim?

árc(e) et urb(e) órba sum. / Qu(o) áccidam? qu(o) ápplicem?

| – u – | – u – || – u – | – u – |

| – uu – | – u – || – u – | – u – |

| – u – | – u – || – u – | – u – |

"What protection am I to seek or request? What help

may I depend on now in my exile or flight?

I am deprived of citadel and city. Who am I to approach? To whom may have recourse?"^[99]

The above tragic aria was presumably sung at a slow tempo. At other times, however, the cretic metre indicates a faster tempo than the iambics it follows, as with the battle description above, or the scene discussed by Moore (p. 332) from Plautus's Pseudolus 920ff, where Pseudolus tries to get Simia to speed up his walking, by changing from iambics to cretics:

PS. ámbul(a) ergó cit(o). SI. imm(o) / ótiosé volo!

| – u – | – u – || – u – | – u – |

PS. Walk quickly therefore. SI. No, I want to go at a leisurely pace!

Two lines later Simio changes the metre back into iambics to slow the pace:

SI. quid próperas? plácide, né timé!

| – uu – uu | – – u – |

SI. Why are you hurrying? Slowly, don't be afraid!

Thymelicus

Sometimes a cretic dimeter is followed by a rhythm | – u u u – |, known as a thymelicus, almost always to "comic effect",^[100] as with the following line from Plautus's Mostellaria:^[101]

nunc dormītum iubet / m(e) ire: minime!

| – – – | – u – | – u u u – |

Now she wants me to go to bed with her – no way!

Colon reizianum

The colon reizianum, named after the 18th-century classicist Friedrich Reiz /raɪts/ (1733–90) of Leipzig University, is a short piece of iambic metre of the following form:

| x – x – – |

The first anceps is almost always long; any of the first four elements (especially the first and third) can be replaced by two short syllables. Sometimes the colon reizianum is used on its own (e.g. Casina 721-28), but more often as the second half of a line in another metre, especially the versus reizianus (see below).^[102]

Versus reizianus

The versus reizianus (reiz) consists of an iambic quaternarius followed by a colon reizianum.^[103] But the iambic dimeter is unusual in that it often begins with a double short syllable, which gives it a certain vigour:

| uu – x – | x – u – || – – x – – |

Usually the versus reizianus is used singly or as a couplet in the midst of other metres, but there is one long stretch of 32 lines in Aulularia (415-446) entirely in this metre. In the following extract, the miserly old man Euclio has just chased the hired cook Congrio out of his house:

EVC. Redi. quó fugís nunc? ténĕ, tené. / CON. Quid, stólide, clámas?

EVC. Qui(a) ad trís virós i(am) ego déferám / nomén tuom. CON. Qu(am) ób rem?

EVC. Quia cúltr(um) habés. CON. Cocúm decét. / EVC. Quid cómminátu's

mihi? CON. Ístud mále fact(um) árbitrór, / quia nón latus fódi.

EVC. Homo núllust té sceléstiór / qui vívat hódie,

neque qu(oi) égo d(e) indústri(a) ámpliús / male plús libĕns fáxim.

CON. Pol étsi táceas, pál(am) ĭd quidém (e)st: / res ípsa téstist:

ita fústibús sum mólliór / magi(s) qu(am) úllu(s) cináedus!

| uu – u – | – uu u – || – uu u – – |

| uu – u – | uu – u – || – – uu – – |

| uu – u – | u – u – || – – u – – |

| uu – – uu | – – u – || uu – uu – – |

| uu – – – | u – u – || – – – uu – |

| uu uu – – | u – u – || uu – uu – – |

| u – – uu | – uu u – || – – u – – |

| uu – u – | – – u – || uu – uu – – |

EUC. Come back! Where are you running away to? CON. Why are you shouting, you idiot?

EUC. Because I'm going now to report your name to the magistrates! CON. What for?

EUC. Because you have a knife! CON. That's normal for a cook! EUC. Why did you threaten

me? CON. I think it's a pity I didn't go further and run you through!

EUC. No man alive today is more criminal than you,

nor is there any that I'd rather do harm to on purpose!

CON. By Pollux, even if you were to say nothing, it's evident. The thing itself is witness!

I've been so beaten by your sticks that I'm softer than a poofter!

Wilamowitzianus

The wilamowitzianus (wil), named after the German classicist Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorf, is a short line of the following shape, ending in a choriamb (note that the two anceps syllables are never both short):

| – x x – | – uu – |

It is used in about 51 lines of Plautus and 5 of Terence, as in the following exchange from Bacchides between the two young men Pistoclerus and Mnesilochus:^[104]

PIS. Mnesiloche, quid fit? MN. Perii!

PIS. Di melius faciant. MN. Perii!

PIS. Non tacĕs, insipiens? MN. Taceam?

PIS. Sanu(s) satis non es. MN. Perii!

multa mala m(i) in pectore nunc / acr(ia) atqu(e) acerb(a) eveniunt.

criminin m(e) habuisse fidem? / immerito tib(i) ĭratu(s) fui.

| – uu u – | – uu – |

| – uu – uu | – uu – |

| – uu – uu | – uu – |

| – uu – – | – uu – |

| – u uu – | – uu – || – – u – | – uu – |

| – u – uu | – uu – || – uu – uu | – uu – |

PIS. Mnesilochus, what's the matter? MN. I'm done for!

PIS. May the gods make it better. MN I'm done for!

PIS. Won't you be quiet, you fool? MN. Be quiet?

PIS. You're not right in the head. MN. I'm done for!

There are so many harsh and bitter evils now arising in my heart!

That I could have trusted that accusation! I was angry with you for no reason!

Sometimes a wilamowitzianus is followed by a colon (part line) in cretic metre, as the following exchange between the fisherman Gripus and the slave Trachalio in Plautus's Rudens:^[105]

GRI. si fidem modo das mihi te / non for(e) infidum

TRA. do fidem tibi, fidus ero / quisquis es. GRI. audi

| – u – uu | – uu – || – u – | – – |

| – u – uu | – uu – || – u – | – – |

GRI. If you give a pledge to me that you will not be unfaithful.

TRA. I give you my pledge, I will be faithful, whoever you are. GRI. Listen...