PART IV.'

PROSODY.

244. Definitions.

1. Prosody treats of the quantity of syllables, of accent, and of the laws of versification.

2. A Verse is a line consisting of a certain number of accented and unaccented syllables, disposed according to metrical rules.

3. Versification is the art of metrical composition.

4. Discourse is written either in Prose or Verse.

5. Prose is discourse written in language as ordinarily used, having reference, mainly, to a clear and distinct statement of the author's meaning.

6. Poetry is discourse written in metrical language. Its aim is to please, by addressing the imagination and the sensibilities.

7. Poetry is written either in Rhyme or in Blank Verse.

8. Rhyme is a correspondence of sound in the last syllables of two or more lines, succeeding each other immediately, or at no great distance.

Ex.- "Onward its course the present keeps;

Onward the constant current sweeps."

Rem. 1.-Perfect rhymes require, (1) that the syllables be accented, and that the vowel sounds be the same; (2) that the sounds following the vowels be the same; (3) that the sounds preceding the vowels be different.

Ex.—Talk and walk, town and crown are perfect rhymes. Breathe and teeth, home and come are imperfect rhymes.

Rem. 2.-A single rhyme is an accented syllable standing alone at the end of a line; as, mind, refined.

A double rhyme consists of an accented syllable, followed by an unaccented one; as, dreaming, seeming.

A triple rhyme consists of an accented syllable, followed by two unaccented ones; as, fearfully, cheerfully.

Rem. 3.—A couplet, or distich, consists of two lines rhyming together.

A triplet consists of three lines rhyming together.

Rem. 4.-Middle rhyme is that which exists between the last accented syllables of the two sections of a verse or line.

Ex.-"We were the first that ever burst

Into that silent sea."-Coleridge.

"Come weal, come woe, we'll gather and go,
And live and die wi' Charlie."-Burns."

9. Blank Verse is verse without rhyme. Ex.-"The primal duties shine aloft, like stars;

The charities that soothe, and heal, and bless,
Are scattered at the feet of man, like flowers."

Wordsworth. Rem.—In blank verse, every line should end with an important word.

10. A Stanza is a group of lines forming a division of a poem.

245. Poetic Feet.

1. A Foot is a certain portion of a line in poetry, combined according to accent.

2. Accent is a stress of voice on a certain syllable of a word or foot.

Rem. 1.—In Greek and Latin, verse is made according to the quantity of syllables; i. e., the relative time employed in pronouncing them. A long syllable requires twice the time in uttering it that a short one requires.

In English, verse is composed wholly according to accent. An accented syllable is considered long; an unaccented syllable, short.

Rem. 2.-In poetry, monosyllables receive accent.

Ex.-" And to' | and fro, | and in' | and ouť

The wan' stars danced' | between."

3. The principal feet used in English verse, are the Iambus, the Trochee, the Pyrrhic, the Spondee, the Anapest, the Dactyl, and the Amphibrach.

Rem. In the formulas, an accented, or long syllable, is represented by a; an unaccented, or short syllable, by u.

4. The Iambus consists of an unaccented and an accented syllable. Its formula is u a.

Ex. "A mind' not to be changed' | by place' or time."

5. The Trochee consists of an accented and an unaccented syllable. Its formula is a u.

Ex.—“ Ru'in | seize thee, | ruth ́less | king.""

6. The Spondee consists of two accented syllables. Its formula is a a.

Ex.-"Rocks', caves', | lakes', fens', bogs', dens', and shades of death'."

7. The Pyrrhic consists of two unaccented syllables. Its formula is u u.

Rem. The pyrrhic is sometimes used in iambic verse, to avoid accenting an unimportant word.

Ex.-

"What could be less' | than to | afford' | him praise'?" Instead of resting on a short syllable, the accent is sometimes allowed to pass to the first syllable of the next foot, making that foot a spondee.

Ex.-"Of the low, sun'- | set clouds', | and the | blue sky'."

8. The Anapest consists of two unaccented and an accented syllable. Its formula is u u a.

Ex.-"All at once | and all o'er | with a might'- | y uproar."

9. The Dactyl consists of one accented and two unaccented syllables. Its formula is a u u.

Ex.-"Heed' not the corpse', though a king's', in your path'."

10. The Amphibrach consists of one unaccented, one accented, and one unaccented syllable. Its formula is u au.

Ex.

-“A pret ́ti- | er din ́ner | I nev'er | set eyes' on."

11. A long or accented syllable used as one foot is called a Cæsura.

Ex.-Gold', | gold', | gold', | gold'!

Heavy to get' and | light' to | hold'.-Hood.

12. A foot of three unaccented syllables is called a Tribrach. It is rarely found in English poetry.

Rem. 1.-The iambus and the anapest,-the accent falling on the same part of the foot in each,—are interchangeable feet.

Ex. "There were grace- | ful heads', | with their ring-| lets bright',

Which tossed' | in the breeze', | with a play' | of light'."

Rem. 2.—For a similar reason, the trochee and the dactyl are sometimes used promiscuously.

Ex.

"Joy' to the spir ́it | came','

Through the wide | rent in | Time's e- | ter'nal | veil'."

Rem. 3.—The following lines by Coleridge will assist in remembering the character of the different kinds of feet:

"Tro'chees | trip' from | long to | short'.

From long to long', | in sol- | emn sort',

Slow Spon' dee'stalks'; | strong foot', yet | ill' able
Ev'er to come up with | Dac'tyl tri- | syllable.

Iambics march' | from short' | to long'.

With a leap and a bound', | the swift An' | apests throng.

One syllable long, with | one short? at | each side'

Amphi'brachys hastes' with a state'ly stride."

246. Kinds of Verse.

1. Verse is named from the kind of foot which predominates in a line; as, the Iambic, from the iambus; the Trochaic, from the trochee; the Anapestic, from the anapest; the Dactylic, from the dactyl.

2. A verse containing one foot is called a Monometer; one containing two, a Dimeter; one containing three, a Trimeter; one containing four, a Tetrameter; one containing five, a Pentameter; one containing six, a Hexameter; one containing seven, a Heptameter; and one containing eight, an Octometer.

3. Verse, therefore, may be Iambic Monometer, Iambic Dimeter, &c.; Trochaic Monometer, Trochaic Dimeter, &c.; Anapestic Monometer, Anapestic Dimeter, &c.; Dactylic Monometer, Dactylic Dimeter, &c.

4. A verse or foot in which a syllable is wanting at the end, is called catalectic: a full verse or foot is called acatalectic: a verse or foot in which a syllable is wanting at the beginning, is called acephalous: a line which has a redundant syllable at the end, is called hypermeter, or hypercatalectic.

247. Poetic Pauses.

1. There are two pauses in every verse: a Final and

a Cœsural.

2. The Final Pause is a pause made at the end of a line, in reading.

Rem. Some kinds of verse can be distinguished from prose only by means of the final pause. This pause should always be observed in reading verse, even when not required by the grammatical construction.

3. The Casural Pause is a pause in a verse.