Systems of Scansion - Ictus and X

Ictus and X

Baldwin (1979) regards the use of the ictus (or slash) and x notation as "normal," and argues for its benefits. By avoiding the macron and breve traditionally associated with the quantity (length) of syllables, ictus and x notation avoids possible confusions; it also has the advantage of being easily typed. This notation is used by, for example, Steele (1999), and some less specialist books. This is the notation used in the Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics. This is the notation preferred by the Poetry WikiProject for Wikipedia articles displaying scansion.