Latin verse is scanned as connected speech, not as a row of printed words. When one word ends in a vowel and the next begins with a vowel, Classical poets normally prevent the two syllables from occupying separate metrical positions. Elision suppresses the first word's final syllable from the count; prodelision suppresses the initial e of es or est; hiatus exceptionally lets both vowels remain.
These names describe metrical outcomes more securely than exact phonetic gestures. Elided vowels may have been deleted, weakened, nasalized, or blended to different degrees in performance. For scanning, the decisive fact is simpler: determine which written vowel nuclei contribute syllables to the verse before fitting feet.
The ordinary domain of elision
A word-final vowel is normally elided before a word beginning with a vowel or with h plus a vowel. The same applies to a final vowel followed by m: endings such as -am, -em, and -um do not supply a separate metrical syllable in that environment. The h does not block the contact.
| Written contact | Scansion notation | Metrical result |
|---|---|---|
| multā arte | mult(ā) arte | final -ā does not occupy a position |
| bonum amīcum | bon(um) amīcum | final -um is elided before a- |
| multum habet | mult(um) habet | h does not prevent elision |
| mea est | me(a) est or, by prodelision, mea (e)st | the meter and authorial practice decide the analysis |
Multā arte pictor vultum expressit.
With great skill, the painter captured the face. In verse, multā would normally elide before arte.
Bonum amīcum rēbus adversīs cognōscimus.
We recognize a good friend in adversity. In verse, final -um of bonum would normally be elided.
Multum habet, sed plūra cupit.
He has much, but wants more. Initial h does not prevent metrical elision of multum. (neutral prose; poetic diagnosis)
Do not begin by translating. First underline every word-final vowel or vowel-plus-m, then inspect the next word's first sound. Apply elision only across an eligible vowel contact. A word ending in a consonant other than the weak final m is not elided merely because the next word begins with a vowel.
Prodelision with es and est
When a preceding word ends in a vowel or vowel-plus-m and the next word is es or est, Latin can keep the preceding ending and drop the initial e- of the copula. This is prodelision, also called aphaeresis. Thus factum est can be realized as factumst, and vīta est as vītast. Contracted spellings occur especially in early dramatic and informal-looking texts (archaic/comic); modern editions more often print the two words and let the reader recognize the scansion.
Early comedy also permits broader contractions after some forms in -us or -is: captus est can appear as captust, with the final s of captus lost before enclitic -st. This is an archaic sandhi pattern, not a reason to attach -st freely after consonants in polished Classical verse.
Nūntiātum est hostēs advenisse.
It was announced that the enemy had arrived. The contact nūntiātum est may scan as nūntiātumst. (formal prose; archaic/comic contraction in verse)
Vīta est brevis, ars longa.
Life is short, art is long. Vīta est can undergo prodelision as vītast in a suitable verse. (literary maxim)
Tū es quem exspectāvimus.
You are the one we have been waiting for. Tū es may be compressed by loss of the e of es in early or comic verse. (archaic/comic metrical usage)
Prodelision is not a license to drop the first vowel of any vowel-initial word. It is strongly associated with the extremely frequent copular forms es and est. For production, use it only when the text, meter, or edition supports it; for parsing, test it whenever es/est follows an eligible final vowel.
Hiatus: keeping both vowels
Hiatus is the marked alternative: both adjacent vowels retain separate syllabic value. In polished Classical hexameter it is uncommon and therefore expressive. It is favored with interjections, Greek words or names, strong syntactic boundaries, and certain line or caesura positions. Earlier dramatic verse permits different freedoms, while later accentual verse follows a different rhythmic system (archaic/comic; later/medieval).
Horace lets the opening interjection stand before another vowel:
o et praesidium et dulce decus meum:
O, both my safeguard and my sweet glory. (Horace, Odes 1.1.2; source spelling retained; literary)
The contact ō et preserves the exclamatory ō rather than making it disappear into routine elision. That conspicuous separation suits direct address. Hiatus is thus not a failed rule: it can articulate emotion, a name, or a structural boundary.
Do not infer hiatus merely because an editor prints two vowels. Classical spelling normally preserves vowels even when meter elides one. Hiatus is established only when the metrical scheme requires both syllables—or when explicit ancient evidence and the verse's structure support the reading.
A hexameter with two successive elisions
Virgil describes Aeneas as battered on land and sea:
litora, multum ille et terris iactatus et alto
to the shores; he, much tossed about both on land and on the deep. (Virgil, Aeneid 1.3; source spelling retained; literary)
The line has two adjacent elisions: mult(um) ille and ill(e) et. With those omissions applied, pedagogical quantities and connected-speech syllabification give:
lī-to-ra | mul-til | let-ter | rīs-iac | tā-tu-se | tal-tō
– ⏑ ⏑ | – – | – – | – – | – ⏑ ⏑ | – x
| Foot | Syllables heard by the meter | Why they scan so |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | lī-to-ra | long ī, then two open short syllables |
| 2 | mul + til(le) | -um is elided; l closes mul-, while the surviving t begins til- and the first half of geminate ll closes it |
| 3 | let + ter(rīs) | -e of ille is elided; its surviving l begins let-, and both syllables are heavy by consonantal closure |
| 4 | rīs + iac(tātus) | rīs has long ī; iac- is closed by ct |
| 5 | tā-tu-se | long ā; final s of iactātus moves forward before et, leaving two open light syllables |
| 6 | tal-tō | final t of et becomes the onset before altō; tal- is closed by l, and final long ō occupies anceps |
Without the first elision, an extra syllable intervenes after mult-; without the second, another intervenes before et. The tempting written-word sequence therefore cannot fit – ⏑ ⏑ | – – | – – | – – | – ⏑ ⏑ | – x. Virgil's wording exploits elision to build four weighty middle feet, not to decorate prose after composition.
A reliable parsing routine
- Divide words into possible syllables using Latin phonology, as on Syllabification for Scansion.
- Mark every vowel-final or vowel-plus-m word before a vowel or h plus vowel.
- Test ordinary elision; before es/est, also test prodelision.
- Assign quantity to the remaining syllables.
- Invoke hiatus only if preserving both vowels is demanded and defensible.
English speakers often hear stress and pause at printed word boundaries. Latin meter instead continues through spaces: punctuation may guide syntax, but it does not automatically prevent elision.
Common Mistakes
1. Counting every written vowel
❌ bonum | amīcum
Incorrect scansion—the final -um normally contributes no separate syllable before a-.
✅ bon(um) amīcum
Correct metrical diagnosis: apply elision before assigning feet.
2. Treating h as a barrier
❌ multum | habet
Incorrect in ordinary Classical verse—h does not block the vowel contact.
✅ mult(um) habet
Correct: final vowel-plus-m normally elides before h plus vowel.
3. Calling every compression elision
❌ fact(um) est
Misleading analysis when the preceding ending is retained: with esse, Latin can remove initial e instead.
✅ factum (e)st → factumst
Correct prodelision analysis, especially characteristic of early and comic verse.
4. Assuming printed spelling proves hiatus
❌ me-a | est
Incorrect as an automatic three-syllable count: editions normally preserve spelling even when a vowel is not counted.
✅ me(a) est / mea (e)st
Correct procedure: test elision or prodelision before claiming both vowels survive; retain hiatus only when the meter proves it.
Key Takeaways
Elision removes a final vowel or vowel-plus-m from the metrical count before a vowel or h plus vowel. Prodelision instead removes initial e from es/est. Hiatus preserves both vowels only under restricted, often expressive conditions. Diagnose the continuous sound sequence first; meter then reveals how a poet's choice of words and order produces the line's rhythm.
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Start learning Latin →Related Topics
- Syllabification for ScansionB1 — Divide continuous Latin speech into syllables for scansion, accounting for diphthongs, consonantal glides, clusters, word boundaries, and elision.
- Common Quantity and Muta Cum LiquidaB1 — Scan a short vowel before stop-plus-liquid clusters by testing whether the consonants share an onset or divide between syllables.
- Dactylic Hexameter: The Basic SchemeB2 — Build and scan the six feet of Latin epic verse, distinguishing obligatory longa, variable biceps positions, and final anceps.
- Finding the Hexameter CaesuraB2 — Locate strong word breaks inside hexameter feet and distinguish third-foot caesurae from diaeresis, punctuation, and performance pauses.