New Latin Grammar, page 269 by Charles E. Bennett
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s. They usually represent an earlier pronunciation which had passed out of vogue in the ordinary speech.
4. After a consonant, i and u sometimes become j and v. The preceding syllable then becomes long; as,--
abjete for abiete; genva for genua.
5. Sometimes v becomes u; as,--
silua for silva; dissoluÅ for dissolvÅ.
6. Sometimes a verse has an extra syllable. Such a verse is called an Hypérmeter. The extra syllable ends in a vowel or -m, and is united with the initial vowel or h of the next verse by Synaphéia. Thus:--
... ignÄr^Ä« hominumque locÅrum^que errÄmus.
7. Tmesis (cutting). Compound words are occasionally separated into their elements; as,--
quÅ mÄ“ cumque rapit tempestÄs, for quÅcumque, etc.
8. Sýncope. A short vowel is sometimes dropped between two consonants; as,--
repostus for repositus
THE DACTYLIC HEXAMETER.
368. 1. The Dactylic Hexameter, or Heroic Verse, consists theoretically of six dactyls. But in all the feet except the fifth, a spondee ( _ _ ) may take the place of the dactyl. The sixth foot may be either a spondee or a trochee, since the final syllable of a verse may be either long or short (syllaba anceps). The following represents the scheme of the verse:--
_/ vv (or _) ; _/ vv (or _) ; _/ vv (or _) ; _/ vv (or _) ; _/ vv ; _/ v (or _).
2. Sometimes we find a spondee in the fifth foot. Such verses are called Spondaic. A dactyl usually stands in the fourth place, and the fifth and sixth feet are generally made up of a quadrisyllable; as,--
armÄtum^que aurÅ circumspicit ÅŒrÄ«Åna.
cÄra deum subolÄ“s, magnum Jovis incrÄ“mentum.
3. Caesura.
a) The favorite position of the caesura in the Dactylic Hexameter is after the thesis of the third foot; as,--
arma virumque canÅ || TrÅjae qu&