Ceasure

DEFINITION:

The term ceasure, also often written as caesura or cesura, derived from the latin word “caedere”, meaning “to cut” or “to split apart”, is defined in Encyclopedia Britannica as “a pause within a poetic line that breaks the regularity of the metrical pattern”.

You can spot caesurae easily because they are typically illustrated with a symbol, such as “||”, “//” or a simple comma, “,”. It's most often used in poetry, though it does occasionally appear in prosaic texts as well. The method originates all the way from Old English and was often used at that time to define and separate a line into two or more half-lines, aiming to emphasise what was said. When reading, the intent is to pause at the caesura, the length of the pause depending on the punctuation used and the type of the line.

EXAMPLES:

“Of arms and the man, I sing. || Who first from the shores of Troy…”

-        The Aeneid by Virgil, translated

“I would land-damn him. || Be she honour-flaw’d,

I have three daughters; || the eldest is eleven”

-        W. Shakespeare - The Winter’s Tale

“I’m Nobody! Who are you?

Are you – Nobody – too?

Then there’s a pair of us!

Don't tell! they'd advertise – you know!

How dreary – to be – Somebody!

How public – like a Frog –

To tell one’s name – the livelong June –

To an admiring Bog!”

-        E. Dickinon - I'm nobody! Who are you?

SOURCES:

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (1998, July 20). Caesura | Definition, Examples & Prosody. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/art/caesura

Caesura - Definition and Examples | LitCharts. (n.d.). LitCharts. https://www.litcharts.com/literary-devices-and-terms/caesura

Caesura. (2024, June 12). The Poetry Foundation. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/education/glossary/caesura

Academy of American Poets. (1890). I’m Nobody! Who are you? (260). Poets.org. https://poets.org/poem/im-nobody-who-are-you-260

Understanding Caesura: Definition and Examples of Caesura. (n.d.). masterclass.com. https://www.masterclass.com/articles/definition-and-examples-of-caesura

Gretchen Bartels. (2015, February 18). Caesura [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NjlGQEZPWU

Author of the page: Barbora Hanáková, 563376