But, whatever be the cafe in printing, and writing, this is contrary to the practice of all good, readers; who pronouce every fyllable diftin&tly, and by fo doing gratify our ear much more than if they had made the fuppofed elifions. For, how ridiculous would it be, if one were to read the laft line thus ! Full man' an am'rous man' a quer'lous ditty. This might indeed be called meafure, but it could not be called English. Some have imagined, that the rhythm of our verfe depends, like that of the Greek and Latin, not upon the number, but upon the And it is quantity, of fyllables. true, that an English heroick line may be made up of a fhort and long fyllable five times repeated; in which case we may fay, without any impropriety, that it is a pure Iambick of five feet: as, Dětpair revenge, emorfe torment the soul: But it is no lefs true, that an Englith heroick line may be compofed, wherein there shall net be one long fyllable, except the last: as, The bufy bodies flutter tattle still. Whatever may be faid of this line in other refpects, it will at least be allowed to be of the English heroick fpecies: and yet, if we were to pronounce the fecond, fourth, fixth, and eighth fyllables as if they were long, the articulation would be ridiculous: The buzz-y bode-ies flutt-er tatt-le ftill. are of the heroick fpecies; and no critick will fay, that they are inconfiftent with rule, or not justifi. able by authority. "On what then does the meafure of English verfes depend? Not on the number of the fyllables, as we have feen: nor on their quantity; fince an English heroick line may confift of five fhort and five long fyllables, or of nine fhort and one long fyllable.-In fact, this matter is regulated by the emphafis.. In our verfe, there must be in every foot one emphatick fyllable, whether long or thort. And the alternate fucceffion of emphatick and non emphatick fyllables is as effential to English numbers, as that of long and thort is to the Latin and Greek.--Thus in that line, The bufy bodies Autter tattle still, though there is not one long fyllable till you come to the end, there are five emphatick fyllables, each of them preceded by a fyllable of no emphafis. And in the other line, Defpair, remorse, revenge, torment the foul, there are also five emphatick fyllables, each preceded by a non-emphatick fyllable. In what refpe&t, then, do these two lines (which are allowed to be of the fame fpecies) resemble each other, and in what refpe&t do they differ. They differ in this refpect, that one is made up of fhort and long fyllables alternately difpofed, while the other has in it only one long fyllable: they agree in this, that both the one and the other is composed of non-emphatickand emphatick fyllables plaIt follows, that, ced alternately. though long and fhart, er fhort and P4 long. long, fyllables may fometimes form the rhythm of English verfe, yet that which invariably and effentially forms it, is the interchange of emphatick and non-emphatic fyllables. "In lines, that are intended to imitate the fenfe by the articulation, or to be remarkably concife and figuificant, an exuberance of emphatick fyllables may fometimes be found. But fuch lines, whatever merit they may have in respect of energy, are not well-tuned; and perhaps could hardly be known to be verfe, if we did not find them among other verfes. The imperfection of their harmony, however, we overlook, if they have any other beauty to counterbalance it. Such is this of Milton: Rocks, caves, lakes, fens, bogs, dens, and fhades of death. And fuch is that, in a late Prològue, which I have heard Mrs. Abington pronounce very humouroufly: Some great fat wife of fome great fat fhopkeeper. "Our language abounds in words of one fyllable, many of which, being of ambiguous quanti. ty, have no other emphafis, but the rhetorical, which is fixed upon them by the fenfe. In lines of monofyllables, therefore, that are well-tuned, thofe words, which by the rule of the verfe would have the fyllabick emphafis, have alfo the rhetorical emphafis from the importance of their fignification. If we were to mistake the follow ing line for profe, The fun was fet and all the plains were fill, yet, if we read it with understanding, the rhetorical emphafis, co inciding with the fyllabick, and having indeed the fame effect, would prove it to be poetical, and of the heroick fpecies. "I fhall conclude this part of the fubje&t with two remarks. The firft is, that tho' our poetry derives its measure from the emphafis of fyllables, and the Greek and Latin theirs from the quantity, we mut not look upon the former as bar. barous, and upon the latter as alone fufceptible of true harmony: the only inference we can reasonably make is, that Greek and Latin verfes are more uniform than ours in refpect of time. The rhythm of founds may be marked by the diftinction of loud and foft, as well as by that of long and fhort. Every nation has a right to determine for itfelf in these matters; and it is probable, that the English numbers are as delightful to us, as the Latin and Greek were to the Romans and Grecians. In like manner, though rhimes are intolerable in ancient poetry, it does not fol. low, that they are contemptible in themselves: most modern nations have them, and children and pea fants are charmed with them; which could not be, if they had not in certain circumftances the power of pleafing. "My fecond remark is, that tho' thofe terms in ancient grammar, trochæus, iambus, dactylus, anapaftus, fpondeus, &c. do properly fignify certain limited arrangements of long and short fyllables, it can do no harm to adopt them in English profody. For our emphatick fyllables are often long, are often thort; and where this is and our non emphatick fyllables the cafe, we use these terms with. out impropriety. And where this is not the cafe, if we call that foot a trochee (for example) which confifts of an emphatick and non-emphatick fyilable, both of them fhort, as body, we do not depart from the original meaning of words more than is frequently done, without blame, on other occafions. "In fact, the customs of different countries are fo different, that when we borrow words from a foreign tongue, it is not always poffible to confine them to their primitive fenfe. With us, an advocate is one who pleads a cause in a court of judicature. Au advocate in ancient Rome was one, who affifted with his countenance and advice the person who was obliged to appear before the judges, whether he fpoke in his behalf or not. "Let us then have our trochees, iambufes, and anapefts, and our trochaick, iambick, and anapeftick measures only let it be remembered, that, in English profody, a trochee is either a long and fhort, (as lowly), or an emphatick and non-emphatick, 'yilable, (as body); an lambus, the reverse, as renown, repel; an anapest, an Iambus preceded by a fhort fyllable, as magazine; and a dactyl, a trochee followed by a fhort fyllable, as thun. derer, profligate. As our poetical numbers depend upon the alternate fucceflion of emphatick and non-emphatick fyllables, it may be proper, before I proceed to the fubject of accent, to give fome account of the various forts of measure, that have been eftablished in English poetry; in defcribing which, I must be understood to use the words trochee, iambus, dactyl, and anapeft, in the fenfe juft now explained. And I hall take the liberty to mark our rhythmical emphafis and the want of it, by the fame characters, which in Latin profody denote long and fort fyllables. "English poetical measure may be divided into four kinds, Dacty lick, Iambick, Trochaick, and Anapeftick. "I. The Dactylick measure being very uncommon, I fhall give only one example of one species of it, which I find in Dryden's Albion and Albanius. From the low palace of old father Oceǎn Come we in pity your cares to deplore; Sea-racing dolphins are train'd for our "II. The Iambick is of all mea. fures the moft natural; for, as Ariftotle obferves, we often fall into in our ordinary difcourfe. Greek and Latin hexam: ters, and our own trochaick and anapeftick numbers, are more artificial, becaufe more unlike the cadences of converfation. Our Iambicks we may fubdivide into fpecies, according to the number of feet or fyllables whereof they confift; and I thall follow the fame rule of arrangement in defcribing the other measures. "1. The fhorteft form of the English Iambick confifts of an iambus, with an additional fhort fylla ble; as, tinued through any great number With ravish'd ēārs It fometimes takes, or may take, an 3. Befide a fountain. mon measures may be varied in the fame way, as well as by the different pofition of their paufes. And fuch varieties, when fkilfully introduced, give wonderful energy to English, Greek, and Latin numbers; and have, for this reafon, been ftudiously fought after by Homer, Virgil, Milton, Dryden, and all other harmonious poets: variety being the foul of harmony, and nothing in language or in mufick The third form confifts of more tirefome to the ear than an three iambuses: No war, or battle's found, Was heard the world a-round. uniform fameness of found and measure. Our heroick verse is fometimes lengthened out by an additional fhort fyllable, and then with fometimes an additional fhort becomes nearly the fame with that fyllable; as, of the modern Italians. 'Tis Heaven itself that points out an hereafter. Che 'I gran fepolchro libero di Chrifto, But in English, this is more common in blank verse, than in rhyme; and in tragedy, than in the epick or didactick poem; and among tragedians it is lefs fashionable now than it was formerly. "6. The fixth form of our lambick is commonly called the Alexandrine measure; because, fay the criticks, (but on what authority I know not) it was first used in a poem called Alexander. It confifts of fix iambufis. For thōu ărt būt of dūst; bẻ hūmblě, and be wife. It is introduced fometimes in he roick rhyme; and, when fparingly, and with judgment, occafions an agreeable variety. Waller was smooth; but Dryden taught to join The varying verfe, the full refounding line, divine. The long majestick march, and energy Spencer makes it the laft line of With freedom by my fide, and foft-eyed Melancholy. his great ftanza; where indeed it has a very happy effect. By the fame artifice, Milton gives fuperlative elevation to fome of his ftanzas on the Nativity: But first to thofe ychain'd in sleep and Gray, to the endings of his Take the last gift thefe wither'd arms can yield, Thy gauntlets I refign, and here renounce the field. In measure and number of feet it is the fame with the pure Iambick Trimeter of the Greeks and Romans; of which every fecond line of the fixteenth epode of Horace is an example: Suis et ipfǎ Rōmă viribus ruit. Some criticks confound our Alexandrine with the French heroick verfe. But the latter, though it fometimes contains the fame number of fyllables, is not Iambick at all, but rather Anapeftick, having for the most part two short for one long fyllable, and in rhythm correfponds nearly to the following: Now fee, when they meet, how their honours behave : Noble captain, your fervant: Sir Arthur, your flave. Pray how does my lady? My wife's at your service. I think I have seen her picture by Jervis. The Alexandrine, like other Englith Iambicks, may occafionally take an additional short fyllable: 7. The feventh and last form of our Iambick measure is made up of feven iambules. The Lord defcended from åbōve, ănd、 which was antiently written in one "III. The fhorteft Trochaick verfe in our language is that ufed by Swift in a burlesque poem called a Lilliputian Ode, confifting of one trochee and a long fyllable. |