This project is an automated tool I have created, that can scan the metrical structure of the entirety of Homer's Iliad, with a success rate of over 99%.
The project is made in Python, and I have created a UI for it as well. My hope is that this will be of use both as a teaching tool and a data analysis tool for linguistic means.
https://layanjethwa.github.io/scansion/
This is a PyGame program, compiled with WASM in order to run on a website - loading may be slow.
https://scansion-computer.vercel.app/
This is not finished yet (the second screen isn't functioning), but I have ported the PyGame program manually to a Flask environment so it runs a lot faster and smoother.
This is now completed, and runs pretty well.
Scansion, or scanning a line, refers to the process of determining the metrical structure of a line of verse.
In Homer's Iliad, an Ancient Greek epic poem first written down in the 8th century BC, the structure of each line is in dactylic hexameter.
This means that there are 6 blocks, or feet, per line. Each foot can either be a dactyl, or a spondee. The metre is determined by vowel length - vowels can either be long (-) or short (u).
A dactyl has the pattern -uu, and a spondee has the pattern --.
The pattern of dactyls and spondees within each line is calculated according to set rules and linguistic patterns, which enables it to be logically worked out by a computer.
I embarked upon this project as it was interesting to me, and I thought it would be fun to make.
- The structure of the verse is calculated according to set rules
- These rules are logical and follow linguistic phenomena
- As a mathematician, coder and linguist, this was especially interesting to me
- If the rules are logical, then a computer should be able to follow them easily
- The exceptions to the rules, which could be identified through data analysis, would be of particular linguistic interest
- There have been a few previous attempts at this, but they have had various pitfalls
- Being in the unique position of studying both Classical Greek and Computer Science, I might be able to succeed where others had failed
- Scans 15595/15693 total lines
- Deterministically calculates irregularities using a recursive pattern-matching algorithm
- Extra display of information to show how the scansion is calculated - useful as a teaching tool
- Can output multiple options for each line if the scansion is indeterminate
- Book and line lookup tools for ease of use
- UI with syllable divisions, highlighting and symbols for the scansion, rendered in a polytonic, Unicode-compatible Greek typeface
- Show all button to display scansion for all the lines on screen
- Smooth scrolling
After creating the algorithm and UI, I refactored the entire rendering algorithm to run smoother on lower-end devices, and allow for a show all button without sacrificing performance.
The website was previously created with PyGame and hosted on GitHub Pages using WASM, which ran very slowly, and took a while to load. I have now ported it manually to a web app, using a Python Flask backend and HTML/CSS/JS frontend.