This textbook is the first comprehensive guide to Latin verse composition to be published in over one hundred years. It combines a detailed analysis of the Roman poets' metrical practices with a series of graduated exercises designed to train the student in the composition of original Latin verse.  Beginning with the dactylic hexameter and working through elegiac, lyric and dramatic meters, the exercises in this volume accomplish more than simply teaching the basic rules of prosody and versification. They also help cultivate an ear for rhythm, build vocabulary, sharpen grammatical skills and develop attentiveness to the nuances of poetic style and diction. 'A Guide to Latin Meter and Verse Composition' therefore represents an invaluable resource for students and teachers at all levels, not only for verse composition but also for a fuller understanding and appreciation of the metrical artistry of Latin poetry.

David J. Califf teaches Latin at the Academy of Notre Dame in Villanova, Pennsylvania. He has published widely on Latin poetry and verse composition, and a number of his Latin poems have appeared in 'The Classical Outlook'.

Preface; Preliminary Remarks; Rhythm and Meter in English and Latin Poetry; General Rules for Determining the Quantity of Syllables; The Dactylic Hexameter; The Caesura; Variations and Irregularities; Greek Words and Names; Sound and Sense; Rhythm; Consonants and Vowels; Word Order; Circumlocution; The Elegiac Meter; The Sapphic Meter; The Alcaic Meter; Asclepiadic Meters; The Hendecasyllabic Meter; Iambic Meters; Metrical Tables; Glossary of Terms; Modern Latin Poets Represented in the Exercises; Bibliography