8 dactyl-denouement-deusexmachina

1. Dactyl
A foot of poetry consisting of a stressed
syllable followed by two unstressed
syllables.

2. Dactyl
BTW: ptero- means “wing,” so pterodactyl means “wing-finger”
How the name came about:
Dactylos is Greek for “finger”

3. Dactyl
Dactyls are usually arranged in dactylic pentameter
or hexameter.
However, these meters are more flexible because
dactyls are hard to incorporate all the time.
Each foot in a dactylic hexameter verse has the
potential to be a dactyl or a spondee (foot with two
long syllables—but we’ll look at those later)

4. Dactyl
“Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie”
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“This is the forest primeval. The murmuring pines and the hemlocks,
Bearded with moss, and in garments green, indistinct in the twilight,
Stand like Druids of eld, with voices sad and prophetic,
Stand like harpers hoar, with beards that rest on their bosoms.”
You should notice inconsistencies within the meter.
Dactyls are spotted sporadically.

5. Denouement
The conclusion or tying up of loose ends in a literary
work; the resolution of the conflict or plot
French meaning: the untying of a knot

6. Denouement
Typically a scene in which all the plot’s
intricacies are revealed.

7. Deus ex machina
A Greek invention in which a character
appears at the last moment and resolves the
loose ends of a play.

8. Deus ex machina
Translates to “deity from out of a
machine”
From Greek and Roman dramas—if
characters found themselves in an
impossible situation, a god would be
lowered from a crane to resolve the
problem.

9. Deus ex machina
Problem
solved!

10. Deus ex machina
A modern example:
Lord of the Rings (click image for YouTube video)