CHAPTER XXVIII.

Clay! not dead but soulless,Though no mortal man would choose thee,An immortal no lessDeignsnot to refusethee.

Clay! not dead but soulless,

Though no mortal man would choose thee,

An immortal no less

Deignsnot to refusethee.

Herenot to refuse=to accept; and is probably a Grecism.To not refusewould, perhaps, be better.

The next expression is still more foreign to the English idiom:—

Fornotto have been dipped in Lethe's lakeCould savethe son of Thetis from to die.

Fornotto have been dipped in Lethe's lake

Could savethe son of Thetis from to die.

Herenotis to be taken withcould.

§ 626. In the present English, two negatives make an affirmative.I have not not seen him=I have seen him. In Greek this was not the case.Duæ aut plures negativæ apud Græcos vehementius negantis a well-known rule. The Anglo-Saxon idiom differed from the English and coincided with the Greek. The French negative is only apparently double; words likepoint,pas, mean notnot, butat all.Je ne parle pas=I not speak at all, notI not speak no.

§ 627.Questions of appeal.—All questions imply want of information; want of information may then imply doubt; doubt, perplexity; and perplexity the absence of an alternative. In this way, what are called, by Mr. Arnold,[67]questions of appeal, are, practically speaking, negatives.What should I do?when asked in extreme perplexity, means that nothing can well be done. In the following passage we have the presence of a question instead of a negative:—

Or hear'st thou (cluis, Lat.) rather pure ætherial stream,Whose fountain who (no one) shall tell?Paradise Lost.

Or hear'st thou (cluis, Lat.) rather pure ætherial stream,Whose fountain who (no one) shall tell?

Or hear'st thou (cluis, Lat.) rather pure ætherial stream,

Whose fountain who (no one) shall tell?

Paradise Lost.

§ 628. The following extract from the Philological Museum (vol. ii.) illustrates a curious and minute distinction, which the author shows to have been current when Wicliffe wrote, but which was becoming obsolete when Sir Thomas More wrote. It is an extract from that writer against Tyndall.

"I would not here note by the way that Tyndall here translatethnofornay, for it is but a trifle and mistaking of the Englishe worde: saving that ye shoulde see that he whych in two so plain Englishe wordes, and so common as innayeandnocan not tell when he should take the one and when the tother, is not for translating into Englishe a man very mete. For the use of these two wordes in aunswering a question is this.Noaunswereth the question framed by the affirmative. As for ensample if a manne should aske Tindall himselfe: ys an heretike meete to translate Holy Scripture into Englishe? lo to thys question if he will aunswere trew Englishe, he must aunswerenayand notno. But and if the question be asked hym thus lo: is not an heretike mete to translate Holy Scripture into Englishe? To this question if he will aunswere trewe Englishe, he must aunswerenoand notnay. And a lyke difference is there betwene these two adverbsyeandyes. For if the question bee framed unto Tindall by the affirmative in thys fashion. If an heretique falsely translate the New Testament into Englishe, to make his false heresyes seem the word of Godde, be his bokes worthy to be burned? To this questyon asked in thys wyse, yf he will aunswere true Englishe, he must aunswereyeand notyes. But now if the question be asked him thus lo; by the negative. If an heretike falsely translate the Newe Testament into Englishe to make his false heresyes seme the word of God, be not hys bokes well worthy to be burned? To thys question in thys fashion framed if he will aunswere trewe Englishe he may not aunswereyebut he must answereyes, and say yes marry be they, bothe the translation and the translatour, and al that wyll hold wyth them."

ON THE CASE ABSOLUTE.

§ 629. Broadly speaking, all adverbial constructions are absolute. The term, however, is conveniently limited to a particular combination of the noun, verb, and participle. When two actions are connected with each other either by the fact of their simultaneous occurrence, or as cause and effect, they may be expressed within the limits of a single proposition, by expressing the one by means of a verb, and the other by means of a noun and participle agreeing with each other.The door being open, the horse was stolen.

Considering the nature of the connection between the two actions, we find good grounds for expectingà priorithat the participle will be in the instrumental case, when such exists in the language; and when not, in some case allied to it,i.e., the ablative or dative.

In Latin the ablative is the case that is used absolutely.Sole orto, claruit dies.

In Anglo-Saxon the absolute case was the dative. This is logical.

In the present English, however, the nominative is the absolute case.He made the best proverbs, him alone excepted, is an expression of Tillotson's. We should now writehe alone excepted. The present mode of expression is only to be justified by considering the nominative form to be a dative one, just as in the expressionyou are here, the wordyou, although an accusative, is considered as a nominative. A real nominative absolute is as illogical as a real accusative case governing a verb.

ON THE PROSODY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

§ 630. Prosody deals with metre; and with accent, quantity and the articulate sounds, as subordinate to metre. For these the reader is referred to Part III. Chapters 1. 6. 7.

Metreis a general term for the recurrence, within certain intervals, of syllables similarly affected.

Syllables may be similarly affected: 1. in respect to their quantities; 2. in respect to their accents; 3. in respect to their articulations.

1.Pălāi kўnægĕtoūntă kāi mĕtroūmĕnōn.Πᾰλᾱι κῠνη̄γε̆τοῡντᾰ κᾱι με̆τροῡμε̆νο̄ν.—Soph.Ajax, 3.

Pălāi kўnægĕtoūntă kāi mĕtroūmĕnōn.Πᾰλᾱι κῠνη̄γε̆τοῡντᾰ κᾱι με̆τροῡμε̆νο̄ν.—Soph.Ajax, 3.

Pălāi kўnægĕtoūntă kāi mĕtroūmĕnōn.

Πᾰλᾱι κῠνη̄γε̆τοῡντᾰ κᾱι με̆τροῡμε̆νο̄ν.—Soph.Ajax, 3.

Here there is the recurrence of similar quantities.

2.The wáy was lóng, the wínd was cóld.Lay of the Last Minstrel.

The wáy was lóng, the wínd was cóld.

Lay of the Last Minstrel.

Here there is the recurrence of similar accents.

3.The way was long, the wind wascold,The minstrel was infirm andold.—Ditto.

The way was long, the wind wascold,The minstrel was infirm andold.—Ditto.

The way was long, the wind wascold,

The minstrel was infirm andold.—Ditto.

Here, besides the recurrence of similar accents, there is a recurrence of the same articulate sounds;viz.ofo+ld.

§ 631. Metres founded upon the periodic recurrence of similar articulations are of two sorts.

1.Alliterative metres.—In alliterative metres a certainnumber of words, within a certain period, mustbeginwith a similar articulation.

In Caines cynneþone cwealm gewræc.Cædmon.

In Caines cynneþone cwealm gewræc.

In Caines cynne

þone cwealm gewræc.

Cædmon.

Alliteration is the general character of all theearlyGothic metres. (See Rask'sAnglo-Saxon Grammar, Rask,On the Icelandic Prosody, and Conybeare,On Anglo-Saxon Poetry.)

2.Assonant metres.—In assonant metres a certain number of words, within a certain period, mustendwith a similar articulation. Allrhymesand all approaches to rhyme, form the assonant metres. The wordassonanthas a limited as well as a general sense.

§ 632. All metre goes by the name of poetry, although all poetry is not metrical. The Hebrew poetry (seeLowth,De Sacra Poesi Hebræorum) is characterized by the recurrence of similarideas.

§ 633. The metres of the classical languages consistessentiallyin the recurrence of similar quantities; accent also playing a part. The incompatibility of the classical metres with the English prosody lies in the fact (stated at p.166),that the classic writer measures quantity by the length of the syllable taken altogether, while the Englishman measures it by the length of the vowel alone.

§ 634. The English metres consist essentially of the recurrence of similar accents; the recurrence of similar articulations being sometimes (as in all rhyming poetry) superadded.

§ 635. In the specimen of alliteration lately quoted the only articulation that occurred was the letterc. It is very evident that thetwo, thethree, or thefourfirst letters, or even the whole syllable, might have coincided. Such is the case with the following lines from Lord Byron:

Already doubled is the cape, the bayReceives theprow, thatproudlyspurns thespray.

Already doubled is the cape, the bay

Receives theprow, thatproudlyspurns thespray.

Alliteration, as an ornament, must be distinguished from alliteration as the essential character of metre. Alliteration, as an ornament, is liable to many varieties.

§ 636.Rhyme.—InEnglishversification,rhymeis, next to accent, the most important element. The true nature of a rhyme may best be exhibited after the analysis of a syllable, and the exhibition of certain recurrent combinations, that look like rhyme without being so.

Let the syllabletoldbe taken to pieces. For metrical purposes it consists of three parts or elements: 1, the vowel (o); 2, the part preceding the vowel (t); 3, the part following the vowel (ld). The same may be done with the wordbold. The two words can now be compared with each other. The comparison shows that the vowel is in each the same (o); that the part following the vowel (ld) is the same; and, finally, that the part preceding the vowel isdifferent(tandb). This difference between the part preceding the vowel is essential.

Told, compared with itself (told), is no rhyme, but anhomœoteleuton(ὁμοῖος,homoios=like, andτελεύτη,teleutæ=end) orlike-ending. It differs from a rhyme in having the parts preceding the vowel alike. Absolute identity of termination is not recognized in English poetry, except so far as it is mistaken for rhyme.

The soft-flowing outline that steals from theeye,Who threw o'er the surface? did you or didI?Whitehead.

The soft-flowing outline that steals from theeye,Who threw o'er the surface? did you or didI?

The soft-flowing outline that steals from theeye,

Who threw o'er the surface? did you or didI?

Whitehead.

Here the difference in spelling simulates a difference in sound, and ahomœoteleutontakes the appearance of a rhyme.

Boldandnote.—As compared with each other, these words have two of the elements of a rhyme:viz.the identity of the vowel, and the difference of the parts preceding it. They want, however, the third essential, or the identity of the parts following;ldbeing different fromt. The coincidence, however, as far as it goes, constitutes a point in metre. The words in question are assonances in the limited sense of the term; and because the identity lies in thevowels, they may be named vowel assonances. Vowel assonances are recognized in (amongst others) the Spanish and Scandinavian metrical systems. In English they occur only when they pass as rhymes.

Boldandmild.—Here also are two of the elements of a rhyme, viz., the identity of the parts following the vowel (ld), and the difference of the parts preceding (bandm). The identity of the vowel (obeing different fromi) is, however, wanting. The words in question are assonances in the limited sense of the term, and consonantal assonances. Recognized in the Scandinavian, they occur in English only when they pass as rhymes.

Rhymes may consist of a single syllable, astold,bold, of two syllables, aswater,daughter; of three, ascheerily,wearily. Now, the rhyme begins where the dissimilarity of parts immediately before the main vowel begins. Then follows the vowel; and, lastly, the parts after the vowel. All the parts after the vowel must be absolutely identical. Mere similarity is insufficient.

Then come ere aminute'sgone,For the long summer dayPuts its wings, swift aslinnets'on,For flying away.—Clare.[68]

Then come ere aminute'sgone,

For the long summer day

Puts its wings, swift aslinnets'on,

For flying away.—Clare.[68]

In the lines just quoted there is no rhyme, but an assonance. The identity of the parts after the main syllable is destroyed by the single sound ofg in gone.

A rhyme, to be perfect, must fall on syllables equally accented.—To makeskyand the last syllable of merrilyserve as rhymes, is to couple an accented syllable with an unaccented one.

A rhyme, to be perfect, must fall upon syllables absolutely accented.—To make the last syllables of words like flightyand merrilyserve as rhymes, is to couple together two unaccented syllables.

Hence there may be (as in the case of blank verse) accent without rhyme; but there cannot be rhyme without accent.

A rhyme consists in the combination of like and unlikesounds.—Words likeIandeye(homœoteleuta),easeandcease(vowel assonances),loveandgrove(consonantal assonances), are printers' rhymes; or mere combinations of like and unlike letters.

A rhyme, moreover, consists in the combination of like and unlikearticulatesounds.Hitanditare not rhymes, but identical endings; thehbeing no articulation. To my ear, at least, the pair of words,hitandit, comes under a different class from the pairhit(orit) andpit.

§ 637. A full and perfect rhyme (the term being stringently defined) consists inthe recurrence of one or more final syllables equally and absolutely accented, wherein the vowel and the part following the vowel shall be identical, whilst the part preceding the vowel shall be different. It is also necessary that the part preceding the vowel be articulate.[69]

The deviations from the above-given rule, so common in the poetry of all languages, constitute not rhymes, but assonances, &c., that, by poetic licence, are recognized as equivalents to rhymes.

§ 638.Measure.—In lines like the following, the accent occurs on every second syllable; in other words, every accented syllable is accompanied by an unaccented one.

The wáy was lóng, the wínd was cóld.

This accented syllable and its accompanying unaccented one constitute ameasure. The number of the syllables being two, the measure in question is dissyllabic.

§ 639. In lines like the following the accent falls on every third syllable, so that the number of syllables to the measure is three, and the measure is trisyllabic.

At the clóse of the dáy when the hámlet is stíll.—Beattie.

The primary division of the English measures is into the dissyllabic and the trisyllabic.

§ 640.Dissyllabic measures.—The wordstýrantandpresúmeare equally dissyllabic measures; in one, however, the accent falls on the first, in the other on the second syllable. This leads us to a farther division of the English measures.

A measure likepresúme(where the accent lies on the second syllable) may be repeated throughout a whole verse, or a whole series of verses; as,

Then fáre thee wéll mine ówn dear lóve;The wórld has nów for úsNo gréater gríef, no paín abóve,The páin of párting thús.—Moore.

Then fáre thee wéll mine ówn dear lóve;

The wórld has nów for ús

No gréater gríef, no paín abóve,

The páin of párting thús.—Moore.

Here the accent falls on the second syllable of the measure.

A measure liketýrant(where the accent lies on the first syllable) may be repeated throughout a whole verse, or a whole series of verses; as,

Héed! O héed, my fátal stóry;Í am Hósier's ínjured ghóst;Cóme to séek for fáme and glóry,Fór the glóry Í have lóst.—Glover.

Héed! O héed, my fátal stóry;

Í am Hósier's ínjured ghóst;

Cóme to séek for fáme and glóry,

Fór the glóry Í have lóst.—Glover.

The number of dissyllabic measures is, of necessity, limited to two.

§ 641.Trisyllabic measures.—The wordsmérrily,disáble,cavaliér, are equally trisyllabic, but not similarly accented. Each constitutes a separate measure, which may be continued through a whole verse, or a whole series of verses; as,

1.Mérrily, mérrily, sháll I live nów,Únder the blóssom that hángs on the bóugh.Tempest.

Mérrily, mérrily, sháll I live nów,Únder the blóssom that hángs on the bóugh.

Mérrily, mérrily, sháll I live nów,

Únder the blóssom that hángs on the bóugh.

Tempest.

2.But váinly thou wárrest;For thís is alóne inThy pówer to decláre:That ín the dim fórestThou heárd'st a low moáning,And sáw'st a bright lády surpássingly faír.Christabel.There's a beáuty for éver unfádingly bríght;Like the lóng ruddy lápse of a súmmer-day's níght.Lalla Rookh.

But váinly thou wárrest;For thís is alóne inThy pówer to decláre:That ín the dim fórestThou heárd'st a low moáning,And sáw'st a bright lády surpássingly faír.

But váinly thou wárrest;

For thís is alóne in

Thy pówer to decláre:

That ín the dim fórest

Thou heárd'st a low moáning,

And sáw'st a bright lády surpássingly faír.

Christabel.

There's a beáuty for éver unfádingly bríght;Like the lóng ruddy lápse of a súmmer-day's níght.

There's a beáuty for éver unfádingly bríght;

Like the lóng ruddy lápse of a súmmer-day's níght.

Lalla Rookh.

The number of trisyllabic measures is, of necessity, limited to three.

§ 642. The nature of measures may, as we have already seen, be determined by the proportion of the accented and unaccented syllables. It may also be determined by the proportion of the long and short syllables.—In the one case we measure by the accent, in the other by the quantity. Measures determined by the quantity are calledfeet. The wordfootbeing thus defined, we have nofeetin the English metres; since in English we determine our measures by accent only.

The classical grammarians express their feet by symbols; [ˉ] denoting length, [˘] shortness. Forms like [˘ˉ ˉ˘ ˉ˘˘ ˘ˉ˘ ˘˘ˉ] &c., are the symbolical representations of the classical feet.

The classical grammarians have names for their feet;e.g.,iambicis the name of [˘ˉ],trocheeof [ˉ˘],dactyleof [ˉ˘˘],amphibrachysof [˘ˉ˘],Anapæstof [˘˘ˉ], &c.

The English grammarians have no symbols for their feet: since they have no form for expressing the absence of the accent. Sometimes they borrow the classical forms [˘] and [ˉ]. These, however, being originally meant for the expression ofquantity, confusion arises from the use of them.

Neither have the English grammarians names for their measures. Sometimes, they borrow the classical termsiambic,trochee, &c. These, however, being meant for the expression ofquantity, confusion arises from the use of them.

As symbols for the English measures, I indicate the use ofaas denoting an accented,xan unaccented syllable; or else that of + as denoting an accented, - an unaccented syllable. Finally, ´ may denote the accent, ¨ the absence of it.

As names for the English measures I have nothing to offer. At times it is convenient to suppose that they have a definite order of arrangement, and to call words liketýrantthefirstmeasure, and words likepresúmethe second measure. In like manner,mérrilyis measure 3;disáble, 4; andcavaliér, 5. As the number of measures is (from the necessity of the case) limited, this can be done conveniently. The classicalnames are never used with impunity. Their adoption invariably engenders confusion. It is very true that,mutatis mutandis(i. e., accent being substituted for quantity), words liketýrantandpresúmeare trochees and iambics; but it is also true that, with the common nomenclature, the full extent of the change is rarely appreciated.

Symbolically expressed, the following forms denote the following measures:

On these measures the following general assertions may be made;viz.

That the dissyllabic measures are, in English, commoner than the trisyllabic.

That, of the dissyllabic measures, the second is commoner than the first.

That of the trisyllabic measures, No. 3 is the least common.

That however much one measure may predominate in a series of verses, it is rarely unmixed with others. In

Týrantsswim sáfest in a púrple floód—Marlowe—

Týrantsswim sáfest in a púrple floód—

Marlowe—

the measurea xappears in the place ofx a. This is but a single example of a very general fact, and of a subject liable to a multiplicity of rules.

§ 643. Grouped together according to certain rules, measures constitute lines or verses; and grouped together according to certain rules, lines constitute couplets, triplets, stanzas, &c.

The absence or the presence of rhyme constitutes blank verse, or rhyming verse.

The succession, or periodic return, of rhymes constitutes stanzas, or continuous metre as the case may be.

The quantity of rhymes in succession constitutes couplets, or triplets.

The quantity ofaccentsin a line constitutes the nature of the verse, taken by itself.

The succession, or periodic return, of verses of the same length has the same effect with the succession, or periodic return, of rhymes;viz., it constitutes stanzas, or continuous metre, as the case may be.

This leads to the nomenclature of the English metres. Of these, none in any of the trisyllabic measures have recognized and technical names; neither have any that are referable to the measurea x.

§ 644. Taking, however, those that are named, we have the following list of terms.

1.Octosyllabics.—Four measuresx a, and (unless the rhyme be double) eight syllables. Common in Sir W. Scott's poetry.

The way was long the wind was cold.Lay of the Last Minstrel.

The way was long the wind was cold.

Lay of the Last Minstrel.

2.Heroics.—Five measuresx a. This is the common measure in narrative and didactic poetry.

To err is human, to forgive divine.

3.Alexandrines.—Six measuresx a. This name is said to be taken from the early romances on the deeds of Alexander the Great.

He lifted up his hand | that back againe did start.—Spenser.

4.Service metre.—Seven measuresx a. This is the common metre of the psalm-versions. Thence its name.

But one request I made to him | that sits the skies above,That I were freely out of debt | as I were out of love.Sir John Suckling.

But one request I made to him | that sits the skies above,That I were freely out of debt | as I were out of love.

But one request I made to him | that sits the skies above,

That I were freely out of debt | as I were out of love.

Sir John Suckling.

§ 645. Such are the names of certain lines or verses taken by themselves. Combined or divided they form—

1.Heroic couplets.—Heroics, in rhyming couplets, successive.—

'Tis hard to say if greater want of skillAppear in writing or in judging ill.Essay on Criticism.

'Tis hard to say if greater want of skillAppear in writing or in judging ill.

'Tis hard to say if greater want of skill

Appear in writing or in judging ill.

Essay on Criticism.

The heroic couplet is called alsoriding rhyme; it being the metre wherein Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (told by a party riding to Canterbury) are chiefly written.

2.Heroic triplets.—Same as the preceding, except that three rhymes come in succession.

3.Blank verse.—Heroics without rhyme.

4.Elegiacs.—The metre of Gray's Elegy. Heroics in four-line stanzas with alternate rhymes.

5.Rhyme royal.—Seven lines of heroics, with the last two rhymes successive, and the first five recurring at intervals. Sometimes the last line is an Alexandrine. There are varieties in this metre according to the intervals of the first five rhymes:—

This Troilus in gift of curtesieWith hauke on hond, and with a huge routOf knights, rode and did her companiePassing all the valey far without,And ferther would have ridden out of doubt,Full faine, and wo was him to gone so sone,And tourne he must, and it was eke to doen.Chaucer'sTroilus.

This Troilus in gift of curtesie

With hauke on hond, and with a huge rout

Of knights, rode and did her companie

Passing all the valey far without,

And ferther would have ridden out of doubt,

Full faine, and wo was him to gone so sone,

And tourne he must, and it was eke to doen.

Chaucer'sTroilus.

6.Ottava rima.—The metre in Italian for narrative poetry. Eight lines of heroics; the first six rhyming alternately, the last two in succession.—Byron's Don Juan in English, Orlando Furioso, &c., in Italian.

7.Spenserian stanza.—Eight lines of heroics closed by an Alexandrine. There are varieties of this metre according to the interval of the rhymes.

8.Terza rima.—Taken from the Italian, where it is the metre of Dante's Divina Commedia. Heroics withthreerhymes recurring at intervals.—Lord Byron's Prophecy of Dante.

9.Poulterer's measure.—Alexandrines and service measures alternately. Found in the poetry of Henry the Eighth's time.

10.Ballad metre.—Stanzas of four lines; the first and third having four, the second and fourth having three measures each. Rhymes alternate.

Turn, gentle hermit of the dale,And guide thy lonely way,To where yon taper cheers the valeWith hospitable ray.Edwin and Angelina.

Turn, gentle hermit of the dale,And guide thy lonely way,To where yon taper cheers the valeWith hospitable ray.

Turn, gentle hermit of the dale,

And guide thy lonely way,

To where yon taper cheers the vale

With hospitable ray.

Edwin and Angelina.

§ 646.Scansion.—Let the stanza just quoted be read as two lines, and it will be seen that a couplet of ballad metre is equivalent to a line of service metre. Such, indeed, was the origin of the ballad metre. Observe also the pause (marked |) both in the Alexandrine and the service metres. This indicates a question as to where linesend; in other words, how can we distinguish one long line from two short ones.

It may, perhaps, partake of the nature of a metrical fiction to consider that (in all rhyming poetry) the length of the verse is determined by the occurrence of the rhyme. Nevertheless, as the matter cannot be left to the printer only, and as some definition is requisite, the one in point is attended by as few inconveniences as any other. It must not, however, be concealed that lines as short as

It screamed and growled, | and cracked and howled—

it treats astwo; and that lines as long as

Where Virtue wants and Vice abounds,And Wealth is but a baited hook—

Where Virtue wants and Vice abounds,

And Wealth is but a baited hook—

it reduces to a single verse.

§ 647. In metres of measurea x, the number of syllables is double the number of accents, unless the final rhyme be single; in which case the syllables are the fewest.

In metres of measurex athe number of syllables is double the number of accents, unless the rhyme be double (or treble); in which case the syllables are the most numerous.

Now this view (which may be carried throughout the whole five measures) of the proportion between the accents and the syllables, taken with the fact that it is determined by the nature of the final syllable, indicates a division of our metres into symmetrical (where the number of the syllables is the multiple of the number of accents), and unsymmetrical (where it is not so).

For practical purposes, however, the length of the last measure may be considered as indifferent, and the terms indicated may be reserved for the forthcoming class of metres.

§ 648. Of the metres in question, Coleridge's Christabel and Byron's Siege of Corinth are the current specimens. In the latter we have the couplet:

He sát him dówn at a píllar's báse,And dréw his hánd athwárt his fáce.

He sát him dówn at a píllar's báse,

And dréw his hánd athwárt his fáce.

In the second of these lines, the accents and the syllables are symmetrical; which is not the case with the first. Now to every, or any, accent in the second line an additional unaccented syllable may be added, and the movement be still preserved. It is the fact of the accents and syllables (irrespective of the latitude allowed to the final measure) being here unsymmetrical (or, if symmetrical, only so by accident) that gives to the metres in question their peculiar character. Added to this, the change fromx x a, tox a x, anda x x, is more frequent than elsewhere. One point respecting them must be borne in mind;viz., that they are essentially trisyllabic metres from which unaccented syllables are withdrawn, rather than dissyllabic ones wherein unaccented syllables are inserted.

§ 649. Of measures of one, and of measures of four syllables the occurrence is rare, and perhaps equivocal.

§ 650. The majority of Englishwordsare of the forma x; that is, words liketýrantare commoner than words likepresúme.

The majority of Englishmetresare of the formx a; that is, lines like

The wáy was lóng, the wínd was cóld

are commoner than lines like

Qúeen and húntress cháste and fáir.

The multitude of unaccentuated words likethe,from, &c., taken along with the fact that theyprecedethe words with which they agree, or which they govern, accounts for the apparent antagonism between the formulæ of ourwordsand the formulæ of ourmetres. The contrast between a Swedish line of the forma x, and its literal English version (x a),shows this. In Swedish, the secondary part of the constructionfollows, in English itprecedes, the main word:—

Swedish.Várenkómmer; fúglenqvittrar; skóvenlófvas;sólenlér.English.Thespríngiscóme;thebírdisblýthe;thewóodisgréen;thesúnisbríght.

Swedish.Várenkómmer; fúglenqvittrar; skóvenlófvas;sólenlér.

Swedish.Várenkómmer; fúglenqvittrar; skóvenlófvas;

sólenlér.

English.Thespríngiscóme;thebírdisblýthe;thewóodisgréen;thesúnisbríght.

English.Thespríngiscóme;thebírdisblýthe;thewóodisgréen;

thesúnisbríght.

This is quoted for the sake of showing the bearing of the etymology and syntax of a language upon its prosody.

§ 651.The classical metres as read by Englishmen.—In p.500it is stated that "the metres of the classical languages consist essentially in the recurrence of similar quantities;accent playing a part." Now there are reasons for investigating the facts involved in this statement more closely than has hitherto been done; since the following circumstances make some inquiry into the extent of the differences between the English and the classical systems of metre, an appropriate element of a work upon the English language.

1. The classical poets are authors preeminently familiarized to the educated English reader.

2. The notions imbibed from a study of the classical prosodies have been unduly mixed up with those which should have been derived more especially from the poetry of the Gothic nations.

3. The attempt to introduce (so-called) Latin and Greek metres into the Gothic tongues, has been partially successful on the Continent, and not unattempted in Great Britain.

§ 652. The first of these statements requires no comment.

The second, viz., "that the notions imbibed, &c." will bear some illustration; an illustration which verifies the assertion made in p.505, that the English grammarians "sometimes borrow the classical termsiambic,trochee," &c., and apply them to their own metres.

How is this done? In two ways, one of which is wholly incorrect, the other partially correct, but inconvenient.

To imagine that we have in English, for the practical purposes of prosody, syllableslong in quantityorshort in quantity, syllables capable of being arranged in groupsconstituting feet, and feet adapted for the construction of hexametres, pentametres, sapphics, and alcaics, just as the Latins and Greeks had, is wholly incorrect. The English system of versification is founded, not upon the periodic recurrence of similarquantities, but upon the periodic recurrence of similar accents.

The less incorrect method consists in giving up all ideas of the existence ofquantity, in the proper sense of the word, as an essential element in English metre; whilst we admitaccentas its equivalent; in which case the presence of an accent is supposed to have the same import as the lengthening and the absence of one, as the shortening of a syllable; so that,mutatis mutandis,ais the equivalent to [ˉ], andxto [˘].

In this case the metrical notation for—

The wáy was lóng, the wínd was cóld—Mérrily, mérrily, sháll I live nów—

The wáy was lóng, the wínd was cóld—

Mérrily, mérrily, sháll I live nów—

would be, not—

x a, x a, x a, x a,a x x, a x x, a x x, a

x a, x a, x a, x a,

a x x, a x x, a x x, a

respectively, but—

[˘ ˉ ˘ ˉ ˘ ˉ ˘ ˉ][ˉ ˘ ˘ ˉ ˘ ˘ ˉ ˘ ˘ ˉ]

[˘ ˉ ˘ ˉ ˘ ˉ ˘ ˉ]

[ˉ ˘ ˘ ˉ ˘ ˘ ˉ ˘ ˘ ˉ]

Again—

As they splásh in the blóod of the slíppery streét,

is not—

x x a, x x a, x x a, x x a,

but

[˘ ˘ ˉ ˘ ˘ ˉ ˘ ˘ ˉ ˘ ˘ ˉ]

§ 653. With this view there are a certain number of classicalfeet, with their syllables affected in the way ofquantity, to which they are equivalent Englishmeasureswith their syllables affected in the way ofaccent. Thus if the formula

And so on in respect to the larger groups of similarly affected syllables which constitute whole lines and stanzas; verses like

A.Cóme to séek for fáme and glóry—B.The wáy was lóng, the wínd was cóld—C.Mérrily, mérrily sháll I live nów—D.But váinly thou wárrest—E.At the clóse of the dáy when the hámlet is stíll—

A.Cóme to séek for fáme and glóry—

B.The wáy was lóng, the wínd was cóld—

C.Mérrily, mérrily sháll I live nów—

D.But váinly thou wárrest—

E.At the clóse of the dáy when the hámlet is stíll—

are (A), trochaic; (B), iambic; (C), dactylic; (D), amphibrachych; and (E), anapæstic, respectively.

And so, with the exception of the wordamphibrachych(which I do not remember to have seen) the terms have been used. And so, with the same exception, systems of versification have been classified.

§ 654.Reasons against the classical nomenclature as applied to English metres.—These lie in the two following facts:—

1. Certain English metres have often a very different character from their supposed classical analogues.

2. Certain classicalfeethave no English equivalents.

§ 655.Certain English metres have often a very different metrical character, &c.—Compare such a so-called English anapæst as—

As they splásh in the blóod of the slíppery stréet—

with

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