What is the difference between a masculine caesura and a feminine caesura?

1 Answer
Mar 12, 2018

It depends on the preceding syllable.

Explanation:

A masculine caesura is a pause coming after a stressed syllable.

  • Then there's a pair of us // -don't tell!

A feminine caesura comes after an unstressed syllable.

  • I have three daugh ters; // the eldest is eleven

(Examples from I'm Nobody! Who Are You? by Emily Dickinson and Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare.)

Try this article for a more thorough explanation.