Describe features of meter in Latin poetry - AP Latin

SECTION 1

Historical Context & Motivation

Latin poetry did not rely on rhyme or stress accent in the way modern English verse does; instead, it organized language through quantitative meter—a system in which the duration of vowel sounds, measured as long (heavy) or short (light) syllables, determined the rhythmic pattern of every line. Roman poets inherited this system from Greek literary traditions, adapting it to the phonological character of Latin. Understanding meter is essential not merely as an exercise in scansion but as a gateway to hearing the music that ancient audiences would have experienced during oral performance. The AP Latin exam tests your ability to identify metrical features such as elision, caesura, diaeresis, and the substitution patterns that give dactylic hexameter its characteristic flexibility and expressive power.

c. 700 BCE • Homer & Greek Epic Meter

The Iliad and Odyssey establish dactylic hexameter as the grand meter of epic poetry. Greek poets compose by alternating long and short vowel quantities, creating the rhythmic template that Rome will adopt.

c. 240 BCE • Livius Andronicus Translates the Odyssey

The first known Latin literary work adapts Greek quantitative meter into Latin. Early Roman poets use the native Saturnian meter but gradually shift toward Greek metrical forms.

c. 55 BCE • Lucretius & Catullus Refine Latin Meter

Late Republican poets perfect dactylic hexameter and elegiac couplets, demonstrating that Latin can achieve the same metrical sophistication as Greek. Catullus also experiments with hendecasyllabics and other lyric meters.

29–19 BCE • Vergil's Aeneid

Vergil composes the Aeneid in dactylic hexameter, the primary meter tested on the AP Latin exam. His mastery of caesura placement, spondaic substitution, and enjambment sets the gold standard for Latin epic.

8 CE • Ovid's Metamorphoses

Ovid extends the hexameter tradition with a lighter, more fluid style. His verse demonstrates how the same metrical framework can produce dramatically different poetic effects depending on word placement and caesura patterns.

The central question this lesson addresses is: how does the system of long and short syllables, organized into feet and lines, produce the rhythmic effects that Roman poets exploited for artistic and narrative purposes? By the end, you will be able to scan a line of dactylic hexameter, identify key metrical features, and explain how those features contribute to meaning and tone—skills that are directly assessed on the AP Latin exam in both multiple-choice and free-response formats.

SECTION 2

Core Principles & Definitions

Before scanning a single line of Vergil, you need a firm grasp of the foundational principles that govern Latin quantitative meter. Unlike English, where stress (loudness) drives rhythm, Latin meter is built on syllable quantity—the relative duration of each syllable as either long (marked with a macron, ¯) or short (marked with a breve, ˘). A syllable is long by nature if it contains a naturally long vowel or diphthong, and long by position if its vowel is followed by two or more consonants (even across a word boundary). These principles combine to form metrical feet, which in turn build lines.

Syllable Quantity

Every syllable is either long (¯) or short (˘). A syllable is long by nature (long vowel or diphthong: ae, au, oe, ei, eu) or long by position (short vowel followed by two or more consonants). The combination of a mute + liquid (e.g., tr, pl) may leave the preceding syllable short or make it long (syllaba anceps).

The Dactyl & the Spondee

A dactyl (¯ ˘ ˘) consists of one long syllable followed by two shorts; a spondee (¯ ¯) consists of two longs. In dactylic hexameter, a spondee may substitute for a dactyl in feet 1–4 (and sometimes foot 5), because two short syllables equal one long in duration.

The Hexameter Line

Each line contains six feet. Feet 1–4 may be dactyls or spondees. Foot 5 is almost always a dactyl (a spondaic fifth foot is rare and marked for effect). Foot 6 is always two syllables: ¯ × (long + anceps, meaning the final syllable can be long or short by convention).

Caesura & Diaeresis

A caesura is a word break within a foot; a diaeresis is a word break that coincides with a foot boundary. The most common caesura falls in the third foot—either after the long syllable (strong/masculine) or after the first short (weak/feminine). Caesurae create natural pauses that shape the rhythm and sense of the line.

Elision

When a word ending in a vowel (or vowel + m) is followed by a word beginning with a vowel (or h + vowel), the final syllable of the first word is elided—it is suppressed in scansion and does not count as a syllable. This keeps the line within its strict metrical frame and can produce effects of speed or blurring.

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KEY TAKEAWAY

Think of dactylic hexameter as a musical score with six measures per bar. Each measure (foot) has a fixed downbeat (the long syllable, called the ictus) but allows variation in how the remaining beats are filled—either two quick notes (˘ ˘, a dactyl) or one sustained note (¯, a spondee). Just as a jazz musician can swing a phrase by choosing eighth notes or quarter notes within the same time signature, a Latin poet can shift the emotional register of a line by varying how many dactyls and spondees appear. A line heavy with spondees sounds slow and weighty; one dominated by dactyls sounds swift and lively.

SECTION 3

Visual Explanation: Anatomy of a Hexameter Line

The diagram above breaks Aeneid I.1 into its six metrical feet, labeling each as a dactyl (¯ ˘ ˘) or spondee (¯ ¯). Note the strong caesura in the third foot after canō and the spondaic substitution that lends weight to the name of Troy.

As the diagram illustrates, the opening line of the Aeneid deploys four dactyls, one spondee, and a final anceps foot. The spondaic third foot coincides with the mention of Trōiae, lending a deliberate weight to the city that drives the epic's narrative. The caesura after canō creates a pause that separates the poem's subject (arms and the man) from the relative clause that begins to specify context (who first from the shores of Troy). When you encounter such features on the exam, articulate not only where they occur but why they matter—how they reinforce the sense, emotion, or pacing of the passage.

SECTION 4

How Scansion Works: Rules & Procedures

Scansion is the systematic process of marking every syllable in a line as long or short, dividing the line into its six feet, and identifying special features. Although the AP exam does not typically ask you to fully scan an entire passage, it frequently asks you to recognize the effects of metrical features within a given line. The following procedural framework will allow you to scan any line of dactylic hexameter with confidence.

Step-by-Step Scansion Procedure

Divide into syllables. A single consonant between two vowels goes with the second syllable; when two or more consonants cluster, the division generally falls between them (exceptions: mute + liquid may stay together).
Mark known quantities. Diphthongs (ae, au, oe, ei, eu, ui) are long by nature. Naturally long vowels (marked in dictionaries) are long. Vowels before two consonants are long by position.
Apply elision. Cross out any final vowel or vowel + m that precedes a word beginning with a vowel or h-. That syllable disappears from the metrical count entirely.
Mark the final two feet. Foot 6 is always ¯ × (two syllables). Foot 5 is almost always a dactyl (¯ ˘ ˘). Starting from the end provides an anchor.
Fill in feet 1–4. Working from the beginning, assign each foot as ¯ ˘ ˘ (dactyl) or ¯ ¯ (spondee). If two short syllables remain after a long, the foot is a dactyl; if the next syllable is long, the foot is a spondee.
Mark caesurae and diaereses. Identify word breaks within feet (caesurae) and at foot boundaries (diaereses). Note especially the principal caesura in the third foot.

Rules for Syllable Quantity

LONG BY NATURE

Syllable = LONG if vowel is inherently long or is a diphthong (ae, au, oe, ei, eu, ui)

Diphthongs always count as a single long syllable. Naturally long vowels must be learned through vocabulary study and macron markings.

LONG BY POSITION

Syllable = LONG if its vowel (even a short one) is followed by two or more consonants

The consonants may span a word boundary: e.g., in "et terram," the syllable "et" is long by position because 't' and 't' create a double consonant cluster. Note: x and z each count as two consonants (ks, dz).

ELISION RULE

Word-final vowel (or vowel + m) + word-initial vowel (or h-) → first syllable is elided

Example: "multum ille" → "mult(um) ille" — the syllable "um" is suppressed, and the line is scanned as if it does not exist. In rare cases, the reverse occurs (prodelision or aphaeresis), where the initial vowel of the second word is suppressed, as in "est" after a vowel.

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Mute + Liquid Exception

When the two consonants are a mute (b, c, d, g, p, t) followed by a liquid (l, r), the preceding syllable may remain short. This is called correptio attica (Attic shortening). Vergil uses this option selectively; when he does, it usually serves a specific rhythmic purpose. On the AP exam, if a syllable before mute + liquid could scan either way, context and the metrical pattern of the line will determine the correct reading.

SECTION 5

Detailed Breakdown of Metrical Features

The AP Latin exam frequently asks about specific metrical features—not in the abstract, but in terms of their expressive effect in a given passage. This section catalogs the features you need to identify and the kinds of effects they produce.

This chart summarizes six key metrical features with their schematic patterns and typical expressive effects. For the AP exam, practice linking each feature to specific passages in Vergil's Aeneid.

Feature	Definition	Typical Effect	Example Context
Spondaic Fifth Foot	Foot 5 is ¯ ¯ instead of ¯ ˘ ˘	Heavy, solemn, slow; often marks grief, grandeur, or foreign names	Aen. III.74: Greek proper nouns force spondaic close
Bucolic Diaeresis	Word break between feet 4 and 5	Pastoral cadence; sets off a final, self-contained phrase	Common in Vergil's Eclogues; appears occasionally in the Aeneid for emphasis
Hiatus	Elision does not occur where expected (vowels remain separate)	Jarring pause; marks shock, hesitation, or a significant boundary	Rare in Vergil; its very rarity makes it highly marked when it occurs
Dactylic Run	Several consecutive feet are all dactyls	Swift, light, rapid movement; often accompanies scenes of running, flying, or urgency	Aen. VIII.596: the galloping of horses

Additional metrical features and their typical effects in Vergilian hexameter

SECTION 6

Worked Example: Scanning Aeneid II.1

Let us work through the scansion of Aeneid II.1 step by step: Conticuēre omnēs intentīque ōra tenēbant. This line opens Aeneas's narration to Dido and is metrically rich in features the AP exam might ask about.

Scanning Aeneid II.1

1
Step 1 — Syllabify

Divide the line into syllables: Con-ti-cu-ē-re om-nēs in-ten-tī-que ō-ra te-nē-bant. This gives us 16 raw syllables before applying elision.
2
Step 2 — Apply Elision

The final -e of "conticuēre" precedes the initial o- of "omnēs." This triggers elision: the syllable "re" is suppressed. Likewise, "intentīque" ends in -e before "ōra": the syllable "-que" is elided. After elision, we have 14 syllables—not yet the 13–17 typically needed, so let us recount carefully. The elided line reads: Con-ti-cu-ē-r(e) om-nēs in-ten-tī-qu(e) ō-ra te-nē-bant = 14 syllables remaining, which is correct for a line with multiple dactyls.

Two elisions identified: conticuēr(e) omnēs and intentīqu(e) ōra
3
Step 3 — Mark Known Quantities

"Con-" is long by position (n + t follow). "-ti-" is long by position (t + c). "-cu-" is short. "-ē-" is long by nature. After elision, this merges with "om-": "om-" is long by position (m + n). "-nēs" is long by nature. "in-" is long by position (n + t). "-ten-" is long by position (n + t). "-tī-" is long by nature. After elision, "-qu(e)" disappears. "ō-" is long by nature. "-ra" is short. "te-" is short. "-nē-" is long by nature. "-bant" is long by position and nature.
4
Step 4 — Anchor with the Final Feet

Working from the end: Foot 6 = "-nē-bant" (¯ ¯). Foot 5 = "ō-ra te-" (¯ ˘ ˘, a standard dactyl). Moving backward: Foot 4 = "-ten-tī-qu(e)" (after elision, tī merges forward to ō-): actually, "-ten-tī" with elision of -que gives us Foot 4 = "in-ten-tī" where "in" is long, "ten" is long = ¯ ¯ for a spondee, then tī joins the elision. Let us re-examine: the corrected foot divisions are: | Con-ti-cu | ē-r(e)om | nēs in-ten | tī-qu(e)ō-ra | te-nē-bant |. After careful alignment: Foot 1: Con-ti-cu (¯ ˘ ˘ = dactyl). Foot 2: ē-r(e)om-nēs — with elision ē becomes long, (re) is elided, om is long, so ē + om = ¯ ¯ — but this is three positions. Actually Foot 2: ē-r(e)om (¯ ¯ spondee, since -re elides into om-). Foot 3: -nēs in (¯ ¯ spondee). Foot 4: -ten-tī-qu(e) (ten = ¯, tī-qu(e) elides to ō so tī = ¯, spondee). Foot 5: ō-ra te (¯ ˘ ˘ dactyl). Foot 6: -nē-bant (¯ ×).

Foot pattern: D S S S D ¯× → ¯˘˘ | ¯¯ | ¯¯ | ¯¯ | ¯˘˘ | ¯×
5
Step 5 — Identify Metrical Features

The line has three consecutive spondees in feet 2–4, creating a ponderous, heavy rhythm that mirrors the hushed silence of the audience waiting for Aeneas to speak. The two elisions (conticuēr(e) omnēs, intentīqu(e) ōra) compress syllables, conveying the breathless anticipation. There is a strong caesura in the third foot after "omnēs," which divides the line between the description of the collective silence and the physical detail of faces held attentive. This is a masterful example of meter reinforcing content.

Three spondees (heavy silence), two elisions (compression), strong third-foot caesura (narrative division)

SECTION 7

Metrical Effects: Comparing Spondaic and Dactylic Lines

One of the most rewarding aspects of metrical analysis is recognizing how a poet's choice of foot pattern corresponds to the emotional and narrative content of a passage. Vergil was celebrated in antiquity for his ability to make the meter itself speak, and the AP exam regularly tests your ability to articulate this connection. Below is a comparison of spondee-heavy and dactyl-heavy lines and the kinds of effects each produces.

Characteristic	Spondee-Heavy Lines	Dactyl-Heavy Lines
Rhythmic Feel	Slow, heavy, deliberate; each syllable has weight	Quick, light, flowing; syllables tumble forward
Syllable Count per Line	Minimum 13 (all spondees except mandatory elements)	Maximum 17 (all dactyls in feet 1–5)
Common Contexts	Grief, solemnity, labor, awe, exhaustion, divine gravitas	Battle, running, storms, excitement, joy, urgency
Sound Effect	Long vowels create a sustained, sonorous quality	Short syllables create staccato, percussive energy
Vergilian Example	Aen. II.1: Conticuēre omnēs (hushed silence)	Aen. VIII.596: quadrupedante putrem (galloping horses)

Comparison of spondee-heavy and dactyl-heavy hexameter lines

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KEY TAKEAWAY

Think of metrical analysis as analogous to analyzing a film score: just as a composer might use sustained, low strings for a funeral scene and rapid, high-pitched woodwinds for a chase scene, Vergil uses spondees for weight and dactyls for speed. The AP exam rewards students who can identify what metrical feature appears and how it contributes to the passage's meaning. Never simply label a caesura; explain what it does in context.

SECTION 8

Connection to Advanced Metrical Analysis

While the AP Latin exam focuses almost exclusively on dactylic hexameter (the meter of Vergil's Aeneid and Caesar's prose does not involve meter at all), understanding how hexameter fits within the broader landscape of Latin and Greek meters deepens your appreciation and may help on the rare occasion that a multiple-choice question contextualizes hexameter alongside other forms.

Meter	Pattern	Genre / Author	Relation to Hexameter
Dactylic Hexameter	6 feet: ¯˘˘ or ¯¯ per foot	Epic (Vergil, Homer, Lucretius)	The AP exam meter; all scansion skills apply here
Elegiac Couplet	Hexameter + pentameter (alternating)	Elegy (Ovid, Catullus, Tibullus)	First line is identical hexameter; pentameter adds a contracted second half
Hendecasyllabic	11 syllables: ×× ¯˘˘ ¯˘ ¯˘ ¯×	Lyric (Catullus, Martial)	Fixed syllable count; no spondaic substitution—less flexible than hexameter
Sapphic Stanza	3 Sapphic lines + 1 Adonic	Ode (Horace, Sappho)	Stanzaic structure contrasts with hexameter's stichic (line-by-line) form

Dactylic hexameter in the context of other Latin and Greek meters

As you advance beyond the AP exam into upper-level Latin courses, you will encounter these other meters in detail. For now, the crucial skill is thorough mastery of hexameter scansion and the ability to describe how metrical features contribute to literary effect. This single skill set—recognizing quantity, identifying feet, locating caesurae, noting elisions, and connecting all of these to meaning—is the foundation upon which all advanced metrical study is built. The free-response essays on the AP exam offer an especially strong opportunity to demonstrate this competence: even a brief, well-articulated reference to meter can elevate an essay from adequate to excellent.

SECTION 9

Practice Problems

Question 1: CONCEPTUAL

In dactylic hexameter, a spondee (¯ ¯) may substitute for a dactyl (¯ ˘ ˘) in certain feet. Which of the following best explains why this substitution is metrically permissible?

A. Two long syllables are louder than one long and two shorts, so they balance the line's volume.
B. In quantitative meter, two short syllables equal one long in duration, so ¯ ¯ occupies the same temporal space as ¯ ˘ ˘.
C. Roman poets used spondees only when they could not find words with the correct short-vowel pattern.
D. Spondaic substitution is only allowed in the sixth foot, where the final syllable is anceps.

Show answer (B)

B is correct: Latin quantitative meter is based on temporal duration, and two short syllables (˘ ˘) are considered equivalent in time to one long syllable (¯). Therefore, replacing ˘ ˘ with a second ¯ preserves the overall duration of the foot. A is incorrect because Latin meter is quantitative (based on duration), not based on volume or stress. C is incorrect because spondaic substitution is a deliberate artistic choice, not a fallback. D is incorrect because spondees can substitute in feet 1–4 freely and occasionally in foot 5; the sixth foot is always two syllables (¯ ×) regardless.

Question 2: BASIC

Consider the phrase: "multum ille et terrīs." Which metrical phenomenon occurs between "multum" and "ille"?

A. Caesura
B. Diaeresis
C. Elision
D. Hiatus

Show answer (C)

C is correct: "multum" ends in a vowel + m (-um), and "ille" begins with a vowel (i-). By the rule of elision, the final syllable of "multum" is suppressed in scansion. A is incorrect because a caesura is a word break within a foot, not a phonological merging of syllables. B is incorrect because a diaeresis is a word break that coincides with a foot boundary. D is incorrect because hiatus is the rare opposite of elision—where two adjacent vowels are both preserved; hiatus is exceptional and marked, whereas elision here follows the standard rule.

Question 3: INTERMEDIATE

A line from the Aeneid features a strong (masculine) caesura in the third foot and a bucolic diaeresis after the fourth foot. Which of the following best describes the combined rhythmic effect of these two features?

A. The line is divided into three distinct sense-units, with pauses after the third and fourth feet creating a tripartite structure that slows the overall pace.
B. The two pauses cancel each other out, producing a line that reads as a single, uninterrupted flow.
C. The bucolic diaeresis eliminates the effect of the caesura because the two breaks are too close together to be perceived separately.
D. The line must contain only spondees because caesura and diaeresis together require long syllables at the break points.

Show answer (A)

A is correct: a strong third-foot caesura divides the line into two halves, and the additional bucolic diaeresis after foot 4 further subdivides the second half, creating a tripartite structure (feet 1–3 | foot 4 | feet 5–6). This accumulation of pauses characteristically slows the line. B is incorrect because pauses do not cancel each other; they compound to increase the sense of segmentation. C is incorrect because the third-foot caesura and the fourth-foot diaeresis are separated by roughly one full foot, which is enough metrical space for both to register distinctly. D is incorrect because caesura and diaeresis describe word-boundary placement, not foot type; dactyls and spondees can both feature these breaks.

Question 4: APPLIED

3 pts

Read the following line from Vergil's Aeneid (VIII.596): "quadrupedante putrem sonitu quatit ungula campum." This line, which describes horses galloping across a dusty plain, is famous for its metrical effects. In a short response (3–5 sentences), identify the predominant foot type in this line, explain how the meter reinforces the content, and name one additional sound device that enhances the effect.

Show answer

Point 1 (Identification of foot type): The student identifies that the line is dominated by dactyls (¯ ˘ ˘). The rapid succession of short syllables in dactylic feet produces a galloping rhythm. (1 point) Point 2 (Connection of meter to content): The student explains that the dactylic rhythm mimics the four-beat pattern of galloping hooves, with each dactyl's long-short-short pattern imitating the stressed-unstressed sound of a horse's gait. The rapid pace of the meter matches the speed and energy of the scene. (1 point) Point 3 (Additional sound device): The student identifies onomatopoeia ("quadrupedante" and "quatit" evoke the percussive sound of hooves), alliteration of the /kw/ sound (quadrupedante, quatit), or the repeated hard consonants (t, p, c) that mimic the striking of hooves on hard ground. Any one of these devices, correctly named and explained, earns the point. (1 point)

Question 5: CRITICAL THINKING

5 pts

In a well-organized essay of approximately 8 to 12 sentences, compare the metrical strategies Vergil uses in two contrasting passages: (1) Aeneid II.1, "Conticuere omnes intentique ora tenebant" (a moment of hushed silence), and (2) a passage describing violent action or rapid movement of your choosing from Books I through VI. In your response, identify specific metrical features (such as caesura, foot type, elision, and spondaic or dactylic character) in each passage, explain how those features reinforce the content and tone, and argue which passage demonstrates a more effective use of meter to shape the reader's experience. Support your argument with specific textual evidence from both passages.

Show answer

Point 1 (Identification of metrical features in II.1): The student correctly identifies at least two metrical features in Aeneid II.1 ("Conticuere omnes intentique ora tenebant"): the spondaic character of the line (feet 2 through 4 are spondees), the presence of elision (e.g., conticuēr(e) omnēs elides the final -e into o-, and intentīqu(e) ōra elides -e into o-), and/or the strong third-foot caesura after omnēs. (1 point) Point 2 (Explanation of how metrical features reinforce content in II.1): The student explains how the identified features support the meaning of the line. For example, the heavy spondaic rhythm creates a sense of solemn, suspended silence as the audience waits for Aeneas to speak; the elisions compress syllables together, conveying breathless anticipation; and the third-foot caesura produces a dramatic pause that mirrors the stillness of the listeners. The explanation must connect at least one metrical feature to the content of the line. (1 point) Point 3 (Identification of metrical features in a contrasting action passage): The student selects a passage from Aeneid Books I through VI that depicts violent action or rapid movement and correctly identifies at least two metrical features in that passage. Acceptable features include dactylic dominance, enjambment, absence of strong caesura, frequent elisions creating rapid pace, or other accurately described prosodic elements. The passage must be specifically cited (by book and line number or by direct quotation) and the features must be accurately identified. For example, a student might choose Aeneid II.199–200 (the sea serpents attacking Laocoön), where dactylic feet dominate and enjambment drives the narrative forward, or Aeneid V.144–147 (the ship race), where dactyls convey speed and excitement. (1 point) Point 4 (Explanation of how metrical features reinforce content in the action passage): The student articulates a clear connection between the metrical features of the chosen action passage and its content. For example, the student might explain that dactylic feet create a sense of speed and urgency appropriate to a battle or chase scene, that enjambment drives the reader forward without pause to mirror frantic movement, or that rapid elisions blur word boundaries to suggest chaos. The explanation must link at least one specific metrical feature to the narrative content. (1 point) Point 5 (Comparative argument with supporting evidence): The student constructs a clear, well-supported comparative argument about which of the two passages demonstrates a more effective use of meter to shape the reader's experience. The argument must go beyond mere personal preference and address specific evaluative criteria, such as the degree to which meter and content align, the subtlety or complexity of the metrical technique, or the emotional impact achieved through prosodic choices. The reasoning must be coherent, draw on specific textual evidence from both passages, and demonstrate sophisticated literary analysis that considers how Vergil's metrical artistry serves different narrative purposes. (1 point)

SUMMARY

Summary: Features of Meter in Latin Poetry

Summary

Latin poetry is governed by quantitative meter, in which syllable quantity (long or short) determines rhythm. The primary meter of the AP Latin exam is dactylic hexameter, consisting of six feet per line. Each foot is either a dactyl (¯ ˘ ˘) or a spondee (¯ ¯), with the fifth foot almost always a dactyl and the sixth foot always ¯ × (anceps). Syllables are long by nature (long vowels, diphthongs) or by position (vowel followed by two or more consonants).

Key metrical features include caesura (a word break within a foot, especially the strong third-foot caesura), diaeresis (a word break at a foot boundary, notably the bucolic diaeresis after foot 4), elision (suppression of a final vowel or vowel + m before an initial vowel), and spondaic substitution (which creates weight and solemnity). On the AP exam, always connect the metrical feature you identify to its expressive effect in the passage: spondees slow and weigh down a line; dactyls lighten and quicken it; elisions compress; caesurae punctuate; enjambment propels the reader forward across line boundaries.