§ 532. § 533. OTTAVA RIMA. Morgante had a palace in his mode, And shut himself at night within his berth. The giant from his sleep; and he came forth For a rough dream had shook him slumbering.-BYRON. TERZA RIMA. Many are poets who have never penn'd Their inspiration, and, perchance, the best: Than those who are degraded by the jars Of passion, and their frailties linked to fame, Conquerors of high renown, but full of scars.-BYRON. ALEXANDRINES. § 534. Six measures, x a, with rhyme. The name is said to be taken from the fact that early romances upon the deeds of Alexander of Macedon, of great popularity, were written in this metre. See § 500. BALLAD STANZA. § 535. This consists of four lines. The first is composed of four Iambics, formula x ax4. The second is composed of three Iambics, forThe third and fourth are like the first and second. mula x ax3. § 536. The Past and Present here unite Like footprints hidden by a brook, But seen on either side.-LONGFELLOW. RHOMBIC MEASURES. Ah me! Am I the swain That, late from sorrow free, Did all the cares on earth disdain ? And still untouch'd, as at some safer games, Play'd with the burning coals of love and beauty's flames? So sunk that I shall never rise again? For strains that doleful be, And I will sing Ah me! COMMON METRE. WITHER. § 537. The first line consists of four Iambics, formula x a × 4. The second line consists of three Iambics, formula x ax3. The stanza consists of four lines, which rhyme alternately. Happy the heart where graces reign, And strengthens all the rest.—WATTS. LONG METRE. § 538. The four lines which compose a stanza are of equal length, each consisting of four Iambics, the formula being x a×4. The lines rhyme sometimes alternately and sometimes in couplets. The billows swell, the winds are high, Clouds overcast my wint'ry sky; Out of the depths to Thee I call; My fears are great, my strength is small.-COWPER. SHORT METRE. § 539. The stanza consists of four lines. The first, second, and fourth consist of three Iambics; the formula is x a×3. The third of four Iambics; the formula is x ax 4. I love thy kingdom, Lord, The house of thine abode; The Church our bless'd Redeemer saved With his own precious blood !-DWIGHT. HALLELUJAH METRE. § 540. The stanza consists of eight lines. The first four consist of three Iambics; the last four of two Iambics. Yes, the Redeemer rose ! The Savior left the dead; And o'er our hellish foes High raised his conquering head: In wild, dismay, The guards around Fall to the ground, And sink away.-DODDRIDGE. Besides these, there are Combinations of Iambic Measures, Trochaic Measures, and Anapestic Measures. Each kind can be easily ascertained from the descriptions already given. EXERCISES UNDER PART VIII. POETICAL ANALYSIS. § 541. POETICAL ANALYSIS is that process by which the Poetical Forms of a passage are distinguished and named according to their descriptions in Part VIII. 1. EXAMPLES. Bird of the wilderness, Sweet be thy matin o'er moorland and lea! Emblem of happiness, Bless'd is thy dwelling place, O to abide in the desert with thee! Wild is thy lay and loud, Love gives it energy, love gave it birth; Where art thou journeying? Thy lay is in heaven, thy love is on earth.-HOGG. The first and second lines are each composed of two dactyls. A dactyl consists of one accented and two unaccented syllables. See § 483. The third line is composed of three dactyls and an additional syllable. The fourth and fifth, the seventh and eighth, the tenth and the eleventh, are like the two first. The sixth, ninth, twelfth, are like the third, the twelfth having an additional syllable at the commencement. Analyze the following, and state what are the feet composing the several lines, and what are the definitions of the several feet which enter into the composition of the lines; what are the rhymes, if any, and what are the number of lines that compose a stanza. 2. 3. 4. If I had thought thou couldst have died, But I forgot, when by thy side, That thou couldst mortal be. It never through my mind had pass'd And I on thee should look my last, And thou shouldst smile no more.-WOLFE. High on a throne of royal state, which far Or where the gorgeous East with richest hand To that bad eminence.-MILTON. Triumphal arch that fill'st the sky I ask not proud philosophy To teach me what thou art. t time Still seem, as to my childhood's sight, A midway station given For happy spirits to alight, Between the earth and heaven.-CAMPBELL. SYNTHESIS. 1. Compose a line or more of Iambics. 6. Compose or select a Spenserian stanza. 7. Compose or select a stanza of Gay's measure. 8. Compose or select a stanza of Elegiac Octosyllabics. 9. Compose or select a Ballad stanza. 10. Compose or select a stanza of Elegiac Heroics. PUNCTUATION. DEFINITION. § 542. PUNCTUATION, from the Latin punctum, á point, is the art of dividing written composition by points or stops, for the purpose of marking the different pauses which the sense and the pronunciation require. What is the true principle of punctuation? One opinion on this point is, that it is the business of punctuation to divide written language into such portions as a correct speaker would divide it into. This opinion is supported by historical reasons found in the practice of old manuscripts, and by the increased facilities which this mode of punctuation affords to the public reader. This view of punctuation is the Rhetorical view. The other opinion on this point is, that punctuation should attend only to the Grammatical structure of a sentence, and should never separate the subject from the predicate, or the case governed from the verb that governs it. Such was the opinion of the critic caricatured by Sterne. "And how did Garrick speak the solilo"Oh! against all rule," says the critic; "most ungrammatically. Between the nominative case, which your lordship knows should govern the verb, he suspended his voice a dozen times, three seconds and three fifths, by a stop-watch, my lord, each time." quy?” The current practice is generally more in accordance with the grammatical than the rhetorical view. The following are the common rules, though there is considerable diversity among authors and printers in their application. THE COMMA (,). § 543. The comma (,) denotes the smallest division in the construction of sentences on the printed page, and the shortest pause in reading. RULE I. A comma should not come in between the subject or nominative and the verb or predicate; as, "America claimed nothing but her independence." Exception 1. When the subject of a simple sentence is accompanied by several adjuncts, a comma should be introduced immediately before the verb; as, "The injustice and barbarity of this censure on all former editors of the New Testament, will appear," &c. Exception 2. When the connection between a subject and the verb is interrupted by one or more important words, a comma should be inserted both before and after them: "To do good, if we have the opportunity, is our duty, and should be our happiness. EXAMPLES. 1. The book is the author's pledge to immortality. 2. The friend of order has made half his way to virtue. Exception 1. The weakest reasoners among my acquaintance, especially on the subject of religion, are generally the most positive. Exception 2. His style, in point of grammatical construction, is open to endless objection. RULE II. Two or more words in the same construction are separated by a comma; as, "Reason, virtue, answer one great aim;" "We are fearfully, wonderfully framed." Exception. When the two words, however, are closely connected by a conjunction, no comma is admitted between them; as, "The study of natural history expands and elevates the mind." But if the parts connected are not short, the comma may be inserted; as, “Intemper ance destroys the strength of our bodies, and the vigor of our minds." |