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also written cæsura and cesura, is a metrical pause or break in a verse where one phrase ends and another phrase begins. It may be expressed by a comma (,), a tick (✓), or two lines, either slashed (//) or upright (||)
Some caesurae are expected and represent a point of articulation between two phrases or clauses. All other caesurae are only potentially places of articulation. The opposite of an obligatory caesura is a bridge where word juncture is not permitted.
In modern European poetry, a caesura is defined as a natural phrase end, especially when occurring in the middle of a line. A masculine caesura follows a stressed syllable while a feminine caesura follows an unstressed syllable.
Examples:
Homer
Caesurae were widely used in Greek poetry. For example, in the opening line of the Iliad:
μῆνιν ἄειδε θεὰ || Πηληϊάδεω Ἀχιλῆος
("Sing, o goddess || the rage of Achilles, the son of Peleus.")
This line includes a masculine caesura after θεὰ, a natural break that separates the line into two logical parts.
Latin
Caesurae were widely used in Latin poetry, for example, in the opening line of Virgil's Aeneid:
Arma virumque cano || Troiae qui primus ab oris
(Of arms and the man, I sing. || Who first from the shores of Troy...)
This line uses caesura in the medial position
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