Understanding Caesura: Definition and Examples of Caesura

In Latin and Greek classical poetry, a caesura (pronounced “suh-zyur-uh”) is the space between two words contained within a metrical foot. In modern poetry, the definition of “caesura” (plural caesurae) is the natural end to a poetic phrase, especially when the phrase ends in the middle of a line of poetry. The word “caesura” comes from the Latin caedere (“to cut”).

The scansion mark used to indicate a caesura is two parallel vertical bars: “||”. This is a variation of the virgule, which is a slash denoting a line break.

You can categorize caesura based on whether the syllable it follows is stressed or unstressed or where it occurs in the line. Here’s how to identify the different types:

1. 1. Feminine caesura: If a caesura follows an unstressed syllable, it is “feminine.” Learn more about how stressed and unstressed syllables create meter in poetry.
2. 2. Epic caesura: A feminine caesura can be either epic or lyric. In iambic meter, an epic caesura follows an extra unstressed syllable. (An iamb is a unit of one stressed and one unstressed syllable, so an epic caesura is a pause that comes after two unstressed syllables.) A famous epic caesura comes from Shakespeare’s Macbeth: “but how of Cawdor? || The Thane of Cawdor lives.”
3. 3. Lyric caesura: In a lyric caesura, the caesura also comes after an unstressed syllable, but it follows regular iambic meter (stressed, unstressed, stressed). A classic lyric caesura is “they cease not fighting II east and west” from The Welsh Marches by A.E. Houseman.
4. 4. Masculine caesura: If a caesura follows a stressed or accented syllable, it is “masculine.” The opening line of the Iliad by Homer contains a masculine caesura: “Sing, O goddess || the rage of Achilles, the son of Peleus.”
5. 5. Initial caesura: In addition to whether a caesura occurs after a stressed or unstressed syllable, caesuras can be categorized by where in a line they occur. An initial caesura occurs towards the beginning of a line, such as “to be, || or not to be — that is the question” in Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
6. 6. Medial caesura: The most common type of caesura in classical poetry, a medial caesura occurs in the middle of a line of poetry. A medial caesura can be epic, lyric, or masculine.
7. 7. Terminal caesura: A terminal caesura appears near the end of a line of poetry, as in “Then there’s a pair of us || – don’t tell!” in Emily Dickinson’s famous poem “I’m Nobody! Who Are You?”

Caesurae are common throughout the history of poetry. In classical poetry, a caesura occurs whenever the ending of a word occurs in the middle of a metrical foot. In modern poetry, the term only applies when an audible pause occurs in the line of verse. In Old English poetry, the caesura is used to emphasize an articulated pause that occurs in the middle of lines that would otherwise be monotonous and droning.

Here are some notable examples of caesurae in poetry:

1. The Aeneid by Virgil (19 BC)
Arma virumque cano || Troiae qui primus ab oris
(Of arms and the man, I sing. || Who first from the shores of Troy...)
This is a medial caesura because it occurs in the middle of the line.

2. “An Essay on Criticism” by Alexander Pope (1711)
To err is human; || to forgive, divine.

3. The Winter’s Tale by William Shakespeare (1623)
It is for you we speak, || not for ourselves:
You are abused || and by some putter-on
That will be damn’d for’t; || would I knew the villain,
I would land-damn him. || Be she honour-flaw’d,
I have three daughters; || the eldest is eleven

4. The Iliad by Homer (c. 8th century BC)
Sing, o goddess || the rage of Achilles, the son of Peleus.

5. “Ozymandias”: by Percy Bysshe Shelley (1818)
Who said—”Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert … || Near them, || on the sand …
My name is Ozymandias, || King of Kings; ||
Look on my Works, || ye Mighty, || and despair!
Nothing beside remains. || Round the decay …

6. “I’m Nobody! Who Are You?” by Emily Dickinson (1891)
I’m nobody! || Who are you?
Are you nobody, too?
Then there’s a pair of us || – don’t tell!
They’d banish || – you know!

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