Latin Metre

Course Description

Course Description: Poems are meant to be read aloud. At least, this was a given in Antiquity: often, they were or music themselves or accompanied by music. Yet, today, many people (from university students to teachers) are feeling uncomfortable to do this, either being unfamiliar with metre at all, or, although knowing how scansion works, are not sure how it is to be actually read. Doing so, you concentrate mainly on the poem’s contents and its rhetoric, but you miss a great deal of the poet’s artwork: its outer form, its sound, its music, which, very often, is employed skillfully to underline the meaning. Apart from that, knowing metre helps a lot in understanding the grammar of a poem (e.g. when you have to decide which words belong together based on its quantities), and appreciate also prose rhythm as adhibited by authors like Cicero or Seneca. We will start from an introduction into prosody (pronunciation, accent, vowel and syllable quantities etc.), passing on to some selected metres of Classical Roman poetry as e.g. Hexameter, Elegiacs, Iambic Trimeter and Lyrical verses. All of this will always be in line with the skills and wishes of the students, and the atmosphere will be chilled! DETAILS Level: Various. Required is a basic knowledge of Latin. The course is for students (High School, university) as well as for teachers who want to feel more secure teaching metre to their class, or everyone else. You do not need to have any experience in metre. If you do have some experience, you can use this course for further practice. An active participation during the lessons is required to make the course for you as effective as possible! Course language will be English, or, if you are experienced, Latin or a mix of both. Textbook: Instructor will provide materials. Those interested can consult D. Raven's Latin Metre. Sections capped at: 5 students. If the course is sold-out, please fill out this waiting-list form.

Details

• Semester: Fall 2026
• Day: Wednesday
• Time: 1:00 PM ET
• First class: September 30, 2026
• Duration: 60 minutes per session

Tuition

$250 per course

Availability

7 spots remaining out of 7

Cancellation Policy

Telepaideia tuition is non-refundable. However, if you need to cancel your enrollment or withdraw from your class, you may be eligible for a 50% credit to be used toward a future Telepaideia course. In order to be eligible for this credit, you must notify info@paideiainstitute.org of your withdrawal before the second class meeting has taken place.