15. A foot is bound together by a rhythmical accent called ARSIS. This accent, though generally coinciding with the word-accent, must be distinguished from it. It does not exist in prose, and it is subject to certain laws, treated of below (No. 24.)

16. A metrical foot consists at least of two syllables, of which one is long and the other short.

17. If the first syllable is long and the second short, the foot is called a TROCHEE , as righteous, pleasure.

18. If the first syllable is short and the second long, the foot is called an

19. A foot of three syllables admits of several varieties; but only two of these, and these very rarely, are used in English versification, viz. :—

(1.) The DACTY, which consists of one long syllable followed by two

short ones,

, as general, sanctity, separate, regular.

(2.) The ANAPAEST, formed by two short and one long syllable,

20. A foot is not necessarily made up of one word. It may consist of separate words, as-to work, of heaven, his foe; or of parts of words, as—

Those barbarous ages past.

If the ends of the metrical feet always coincided with the ends of words, the rhythm would become intolerably monotonous and unpleasant.

21. Of the various rhythms formed by the feet just enumerated, the Iambic is by far the most common in English.

22. Iambic verses are of different length, according as they are formed by two or more Iambic feet. The most important Iambic verse is that which consists of five feet or ten syllables, and which, if unrhymed, is called BLANK

VERSE. It is the regular metre of the English dramatists; it was employed by Milton for Epic poetry and by Cowper and others for didactic and other

poems.

We shall enter more fully into the examination of the structure of this verse, in which the greater part of the foregoing selection is written.

23. The Blank Verse is admirably adapted for the drama, as of all verses it approaches nearest to prose, and therefore suits the dialogue, which, in almost any other verse, would appear strained and unnatural; yet it is sufficiently rhythmical to raise the language of the drama above mere prose. Its aptness for Epic poetry, however, is very questionable, as it lacks weight and dignity.

24. The English language lends itself very readily to form the Iambic rhythm, so much so, that entire verses may be found in several prose writers, which escaped them unwittingly. The Spectator, No. 459, has the following:

:

"For instance, in that disputable point,

Of persecuting men for conscience' sake,

Besides embittering their minds with hatred," &c.

25. Under the influence of the Iambic rhythm the laws regarding the accent of words are considerably modified. In every word of three syllables, as we have already seen (No. 10), one syllable has the word-accent. This syllable has also the Arsis, or verse-accent. But, as in an Iambic line, every third syllable must have the Arsis, the following effects are produced:

(1.) If the word-accent is on the first syllable, the third syllable, though necessarily destitute of the word-accent, receives a verse-accent, imparted to it by the undulating force of the Iambic rhythm, and is measured as, 51

- as

"That to the height of this great árgumént

I may assert eternal Próvidénce,

And justify the ways of God to man."

(2.) If the word-accent is on the last syllable, the first syllable receives

an Arsis for the same reason, and the word is measured as
as sérenáde.

(3.) If the word-accent is on the second syllable, the first and third must
remain unaccented, but the syllable which precedes the word and that
which follows receives the Arsis, as-

Of that forbidden treé, whose mortal taste-
In the beginning, how the Heavens and Earth-
Invoke thy aid to mý adventurous sóng-
From their Creátor ánd transgress His will--

Hurled headlong flaming fróm the ethereal ský
To bottomless perdition there to dwell.

26. The same law applies to words of more than three syllables. Starting from the word-accent, every second syllable counting either forwards or backwards, must have a verse-accent, as

In ádamántine chains and penal fire,

Who durst defy the Omnipotént to árms-
That with reiterated crimes he might
Irréconcilablé to our grand foe.

27. The great number of words of one syllable, which are not notional (nouns, adjectives, verbs, or adverbs), but flexional (articles, conjunctions, prepositions), are under the same influence of the adjoining accented syllable, just as if they were not separate words, but parts of the adjoining words. Thus, in

Sweet Auburn! loveliest village of the plain,

of has the rhythmical accent, because it is separated by an unaccented from an accented syllable. But in

Dear lovely bówers of innocence and ease,

of is depressed into an unaccented syllable by the adjoining accents.

28. The blank verse consists of five Iambic feet, which may be thus represented:

29. In Shakspere one syllable is often added, without altering the charac ter of the verse, except in making the termination less abrupt and strong, as: My véntures áre not ín one bottom trústed.

It is seldom, however, that several verses of eleven syllables succeed each other. Milton uses them very sparingly, as :

Of rébel ángels, bý whose aíd aspiring.

30. Instead of the blank verse, we often meet in the drama with the Iambic Senarius, i.e., an Iambic verse of six feet: -'

This verse is sometimes employed to arrest the attention, and to mark the passage out from the other lines, as in the Merchant of Venice, Act 11., Scene 7, where the inscriptions on the caskets are expressed in such verses:

Who choóseth mé, shall gaín, what mány mén desire.
Who chooseth mé, shall gét, as múch as hé desérves;
Who chooseth mé, must gíve and házard áll he háth.

Yet many verses of this class seem to be used without any especial object merely to suit the convenience of the poet.

31. To vary the uniformity of the Iambic metre, the classical poets used to substitute other metrical feet for the pure Iambus. English poets have availed themselves of this liberty only to a limited extent, as the language does not admit of the metrical refinement of the ancients.

32. The best substitute for the Iambus is the Spondee, consisting of two long syllables. This, however, can be but rarely employed, as pure Spondees can only be produced in English in compound words, e. g., breast-plate, and by joining separate words. Thus a very good effect can be produced, as, for instance, in the beautiful lines of Pope:

The line too labours, and the words move slow,

Milton also employs the Spondee, as:

Of man's first disobedience and the fruit.-Paradise Lost, 1. 1.
As one great furnace.-Paradise Lost, 1. 62.

33. The ancients never used the Trochee instead of the Iambus, as its rhythm, which descends or falls from long to short, is entirely opposed to the rising or ascending Iambic rhythm. But in English poetry the Trochee is very frequently found in the place of the Iambus, and Milton, in particular, has purposely adopted it very often, in order to take from the Iambic rhythm some of its light tripping character, and by making it rougher, to render it more suitable for epic poetry:

Favoured of heaven so highly, to fall off.

Regions of sorrow, doleful shades, where peace.

34. The Anapaest (~~) is used by the ancients as a substitute for the Iambus. There are verses in Shakspere, where the same seems to have been done; but the cases are exceptional, and many of them very doubtful. In the case of many words it is difficult for us to know, what was the exact pronunciation in Shakspere's time. In other instances these verses are corrupt, and if the correct reading could be restored, it would perhaps be found, that the Anapaest is spurious. Nevertheless, it must perhaps be admitted, that Shakspere has occasionally allowed himself a licence in using an Anapaest instead of an Iambus, and especially when proper names occurred, as—

Did pretty Jessica, like a little shrew.

35. Each verse is separated from that which follows, by a rhythmical PAUse. This is effected by the coincidence of the termination of a word with the termination of the last foot. A logical pause is generally found at the same place, i.e., the last word of a line is logically more closely connected with the preceding words of the same line than with the beginning of the following line. This is, however, far from being a universal rule. Milton, particularly, often avoids a logical pause at the end of his lines, and Shakspere places at the end of verses even such words as and, if, and others which are intimately connected with what follows, as

In such a place such sum, or sums, as are

Expressed in the condition.-Merchant of Venice, 1. 3.

Come, my sweet wife, my dearest mother, and

My friends of noble touch, when I am forth.-Coriolanus, iv. 2.
Mistake me not, to save my life; for if

I had feared death, of all the men i' th' world.--Ibid., iv. 5.