Elision and Hiatus
If you scan a line of Vergil and the syllables won't add up, the answer is almost always elision. When a word ends in a vowel — or in -m — and the next word begins with a vowel or h-, that final syllable is squeezed out.
Multum ille doesn't scan as four syllables; it scans as three: mult'ille. Monstrum horrendum lands as monstr'horrendum.
The rule is mechanical and saves huge syllables — an average Vergilian line elides once or twice. The rare opposite is hiatus: two vowels meet and refuse to elide, usually for emphasis or a Greek name. Train this first; without it, every other scansion rule is wasted.
multum ille scans as mult'ille; monstrum horrendum scans as monstr'horrendum. Failure to elide is hiatus — rare, deliberate.
Trigger fires on BOTH halves: the first word must end in a vowel or -m, AND the next must start with a vowel or h-.
See It In Action
— Verg. Aen. i. 3
Read the second foot aloud: mul-tum-il-le would be four syllables and break the dactyl. Elide it — mul-til-le, three syllables — and the line scans cleanly as the dactyl Vergil intended.
— Verg. Aen. iii. 658
Two elisions in a row: monstr(um) horrendum, inform(e) ingēns. The starting h- of horrendum counts as no consonant for elision — that's why the -um still drops, even though h- looks like a real letter.
— Verg. Aen. ii. 1
The opening of Book 2. Without elision, Con-ti-cu-ē-re om-nēs is six syllables and breaks the meter. Slur the final -e of Conticuēre into omnēs and the foot lands.
— Verg. Aen. i. 405
Textbook hiatus. Dea ends in a vowel, Ille starts with one — the trigger fires, but the elision is REFUSED. The long ā of deā stays its full length, and a sense-pause (the period) shapes the gap. This is the moment Venus is revealed; Vergil holds the rhythm to mark the reveal.
Mark elisions with a slur or strikethrough BEFORE you assign longs and shorts
mult(um) ille et terrīs iactātus et altō — three syllables in foot 2
In performance, lightly sound the elided vowel — Romans slurred, didn't delete
mul-til-le spoken fast, almost two syllables
Treat h- as silent for elision — the vowel after it is what matters
monstr(um) horrendum — h- is no barrier
If hiatus is genuine, pause slightly — Vergil put the gap there for an effect
deā || Ille — the caesura at the reveal
Both situations look identical on the page (vowel meets vowel). The poet's choice is what makes them different.
Final vowel/-m + initial vowel/h- → drops. Happens 99% of the time.
multum ille → mult'ille
syllable count goes down by one
Same trigger, but the elision is refused — full count preserved.
incessū patuit deā. Ille…
syllable count stays the same; gap is felt
Tip: Default to elision. Suspect hiatus only when (a) the unelided word is Greek (Iō, Achille), (b) the final vowel is long ō (interjections), or (c) a strong sense-pause sits in the gap. Even then, scansion is your proof — if the line refuses to scan with elision, try hiatus.
Scan the opening of Aeneid iii. 658: mōnstrum horrendum, īnforme, ingēns. How many syllables actually count toward the meter?
Study Tips
- •Before you mark a single long or short, scan the line for elision points. Cross out the dropped syllables in pencil so the rest of the line scans honestly.
- •Memorize the trigger: word ends in a vowel OR -m; next word starts with a vowel OR h-. Both halves of the trigger have to fire.
- •When elision DOESN'T happen and you expected it, you've found hiatus — note it. It's almost always a deliberate Vergilian effect (Greek name, sense pause, or a long ō).
- •Read the elided line aloud the way Romans did: not silent, just lightly slurred. Mult'ille should sound like one fast word, not two clipped ones.