Each line of poetry is divided into six feet Each foot may be a spondee or dactyl Last two feet Shave and a haircut Strawberry shortcake

Spondee A spondee is a long syllable followed by another long syllable — — Dactyl A dactyl consists of a long syllable followed by two short syllables — u u

A vowel that is long, i.e. marked with a macron makes its syllable long. It is then called "long by nature." This also includes the diphthongs æ, au, ei, eu, oe, and ui, but only when none of the vowels in the dipthongs are long or marked by a dieresis (e.g. diêî or âëreus.)

If a vowel has two or more consonants between itself and the next vowel, it makes its syllable "long by position." The letter x (and sometimes z) counts as two consonants for the purposes of scansion. The digraphs (two-letter combinations) ch, ph, th, qu and sometimes gu and su count as single consonants. A mute (b,c,d,g,p, or t) followed by a liquid (l or r) can count as a single consonant, as long as they are in the same word.

Ellision If two words are on the same poetic line, and the first ends with a vowel or m, and the second begins with a vowel or h, the last syllable of the first word and the first syllable of the second word elide, forming a single consonant, which has the value of the longer of the two syllables.