Brevis brevians, also known as iambic shortening or correptio iambica, is a metrical feature of early Latin verse, especially Plautus and Terence, in which a pair of syllables which are theoretically short + long (u –) can be scanned as a pair of short syllables (u u). The plural is breves breviantes.
One common type is where a two-syllable word ends in a vowel which was originally long, for example volo, ibi, ego, nisi and so on. This type is also frequently found in classical Latin. For example:
volo scīre, sinās an nōn sinās nōs coquer(e) hīc cēnam?[1]
"I want to know whether you will or won't allow us to cook dinner here?"
Another type, not found in classical Latin poetry, is where a closed syllable such as il- or ec- scans as a short syllable. This sometimes happens after a monosyllabic word, for example:
quid illī locūtī sunt inter sē? dīc mihī![2]
"What did they just say to each other? Tell me!"
It may also happen in the 2nd syllable of a 4-syllable word, for example:
suaesenectūt(ī) is ācriōr(em) hiemem parāt[3]
"He's preparing a more bitter winter for his old age"
It is thought by many scholars that such shortenings reflect the actual pronunciation of colloquial Latin. Others, however, disagree and consider that the second type, where a closed syllable is shortened, is merely a metrical licence.
^Plautus, Aulularia 431. The metre is a versus reizianus.
^Plautus, Poenulus 1143. The metre is an iambic senarius.
^Plautus, Trinummus 398; iambic senarius. In Plautus's time the 3rd person ending -āt still had its long vowel.
Brevisbrevians, also known as iambic shortening or correptio iambica, is a metrical feature of early Latin verse, especially Plautus and Terence, in...
possibility of brevis in longo is found universally across all metres, while the anceps is found only in particular verse forms. Also, a brevis in longo is...
βραχεῖα (sullabḕ brakheîa). In Latin the terms are syllaba longa and syllaba brevis. The process of deciding which syllables are long and which are short is...
The literal meaning of brevisbreviāns is "a short syllable which shortens (a following long one)". As a rule, brevisbreviāns is found in places in iambo-trochaic...
exceptions to these rules are found, most notably the phenomenon called brevisbrevians, in which an unstressed long syllable can be shortened after a short...
In Greek and Latin metre, brevis in longo (/ˈbrɛvɪs ɪn ˈlɒŋɡoʊ/; Classical Latin: [ˈbrɛwɪs ɪn ˈlɔŋɡoː]) is a short syllable at the end of a line that...
(poetry) Metrical foot Metron (poetry) Brevis in longo Anceps Biceps (prosody) Resolution (meter) Brevisbrevians Porson's Law Arsis and thesis Catalexis...
(poetry) Metrical foot Metron (poetry) Brevis in longo Anceps Biceps (prosody) Resolution (meter) Brevisbrevians Porson's Law Arsis and thesis Catalexis...
shortening of post or pre-accentual syllables in Plautus and Terence by brevisbrevians, for example, scansions such as senex and voluptātem with the second...
follows: x x – u u – u – Here "x" indicates an anceps, "–" a longum, and "u" a brevis. "x x" is known as the Aeolic base, which can be a spondeus "– –", a trochee...
(poetry) Metrical foot Metron (poetry) Brevis in longo Anceps Biceps (prosody) Resolution (meter) Brevisbrevians Porson's Law Arsis and thesis Catalexis...
(poetry) Metrical foot Metron (poetry) Brevis in longo Anceps Biceps (prosody) Resolution (meter) Brevisbrevians Porson's Law Arsis and thesis Catalexis...
u – – Fusce, pharetrā... /=stressed syllable; ×=unstressed syllable; ∩=brevis in longo This can be translated as: 'A man of integrity, untainted by sin...
is, if the relevant hypothesis is accepted, generally considered long ("brevis in longo"), as in the opening line of Euripides' play The Bacchae: ἥκω Διὸς...
follows: uu uu u | uu u – – || uu uu u | uu u × "x" represents an anceps or brevis in longo a "u" represents a short syllable a "—" represents a long syllable...
various single-short sequences (e.g. u – , u – u – , and, by the principle of brevis in longo, u – u – – , u – – , – ), with various additional allowances to...
(poetry) Metrical foot Metron (poetry) Brevis in longo Anceps Biceps (prosody) Resolution (meter) Brevisbrevians Porson's Law Arsis and thesis Catalexis...
word velint "they wish" is pronounced as two short syllables (uu) by brevisbrevians, a metrical feature common in Plautus. fūit here has a long ū, as sometimes...
(poetry) Metrical foot Metron (poetry) Brevis in longo Anceps Biceps (prosody) Resolution (meter) Brevisbrevians Porson's Law Arsis and thesis Catalexis...
| x — u — | u — — — As in all classical verse forms, the phenomenon of brevis in longo is observed, so the last syllable can actually be short or long...
(poetry) Metrical foot Metron (poetry) Brevis in longo Anceps Biceps (prosody) Resolution (meter) Brevisbrevians Porson's Law Arsis and thesis Catalexis...
adest is shortened to two short syllables (u u) by a process known as brevisbrevians, commonly found in early Latin comedies: adĕst adest fax / obvolūta...
The final syllable of each line in the above fragment counts as short and brevis in longo is not observed. Horace composed some poems in the Alcmanian strophe...
(poetry) Metrical foot Metron (poetry) Brevis in longo Anceps Biceps (prosody) Resolution (meter) Brevisbrevians Porson's Law Arsis and thesis Catalexis...
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