Muta cum liquida in the Classical Latin Hexameter

Abstract

Dealing with the consonant cluster muta cum liquida poses a complex and stimulating problem with numerous implications besides the strictly metrical ones. Tackling the problem effectively implies precise knowledge of data which is not available for classical poetry. This article seeks to collect and analyse this data in a sufficiently significant corpus of the classical Latin hexameter katà stíchon. The result shows a high frequency of heterosyllabism which stands out as the predominant feature.