versification. But our poets were too wise to make the attempt: they bowed obedient to Nature: they prudently chose the smoother, easier path, which she had pointed out; and, availing themselves of that copious variety of words and of accent which our language affords, they have pleasingly diversified the forms of their metre, by occasionally obliging the Iambus to resign its station to a foot of different kind, as the Trochee(-), the Spondee (--), the Pyrrhic(-each a very useful auxiliary in Iambic composition. (But, see the "Hint on Songwriting," in page 60.) Of these the Pyrrhic has the foremost claim to notice, as being the most necessary: for, though a poet might perhaps dispense with the Spondee and the Trochee, he could not possibly exclude the Pyrrhic from his lines, in a poem of any considerable length. This foot, however, is rarely productive of any beauty, other than the general beauty of variety but it is un-avoidably admissible, from the nature of our language, in which A, And, In, Of, For, To, Or, and many other light monosyllables, must so frequently follow or precede an un-accented syllable, that it would be utterly impossible to write Iambic verse, if we were to exclude the Pyrrhic.In the second, third, and fourth, stations, it passes un-objectionable, particularly if the foot immediately following be a strong emphatic spondee. In the first station, it is rather detrimental to the beauty and harmony of the line, though somewhat less in jurious when followed by a spondee, than when succeeded by an Iambus; because, in the former case, the third syllable of the verse has an accent; whereas, in the latter, there are three un-accented syllables together a portion, too great to be wholly destitute of accent at the beginning of the line; although, in the body of the verse, an equal portion may very well dispense with accent. But, even there, two successive Pyrrhics, or four un-accented syllables in continuation, seldom produce any other than an unpleasing effect. In the fifth station, the Pyrrhic materially weakens and unnerves the verse, notwithstanding our utmost effort to crutch up the limping line by the support of a strained and unnatural pronunciation, giving an undue emphasis to the final syllable, as when the verse terminates with such a word as Vanity, Emily*, &c. The Spondee claims admission into every station of the metre; and, in every station, it is welcome, if we except the fifth, where, by attracting to the penultimate syllable of the line too much of the accent and emphasis which peculiarly belong to the final syllable, it generally shocks the ear; though, in some special cases, it is productive of a striking beauty, as where Dryden, having to bend the stubborn bow, * What could be worse, than never more to see His life, bis soul, his charming Emily? (Dryden. Furious he drove, and upward cast his eye, Where, next the queen, was plac'd his Emily. (Dryden, reserves his main effort for the close of the line, and there, with more striking and impressive effect, exerts his utmost strength in straining the “ tough yew”At the full stretch of both his hands, he drew, And almost join'd, the horns of the tough yew. Too many spondees render the verse heavy and prosaïc. Although three may sometimes be tolerated, two are, in general, as great a weight as the line can well bear, if we wish it to move with easy step, and with poetic grace. Two, in fact, are no incumbrance, particularly if they be not placed together, but separated by the intervention of one or two Iambuses, or a single Pyrrhic.-In every case, indeed, unless where some striking and impressive effect is intended to be produced by the tardy weight of continued spondees, it is always advisable to keep them asunder. The Trochee very frequently occupies the first station, where it is almost always blameless, and often highly laudable *. In the third, it may sometimes *It is worthy of remark, however, that, when the initial trochee divides a word, it is much less pleasing to the ear, than when the foot and the word terminate together: e. gr. issu--ing forth, the knight bestrode his steed. (Thomson. Reason is here no guide, but still a guard. (Pope. Loose to the winds their airy garments flew. (Pope. But what is the cause?-In Latin, as observed by Quintilian And other ancient writers, the interruption in the continuity of the voice, between the termination of one word and the com pass uncensured: but, in the second or fourth, it generally has a tendency to enfeeble and unharmonise the line; though, in some rare instances, it may be made to produce a happy effect-as indeed almost every species of poetic deformity may, by skilful management, be occasionally converted into a charm, like the artificial spot on the cheek of Beauty, or the rugged ruin amid the cultured landscape. Without further remark, I proceed to quote a few verses containing examples of the auxiliary feet*. : mencement of the next-however short, and almost imperceptible, the pause may be-gives nevertheless an additional length of time to the final syllable of the former and we perfectly well know, that, in Greek and Latin poetry, that little pause frequently produces a dactyl or a spondee from syllables which, to an inexperienced prosodian, would appear to make only a tribrachys in the former case, in the latter an Iambus, as I have shown in my "Latin Prosody."-Is the same doctrine applicable to our English language? I leave that point to be determined by others: but, in the mean time, whatever may be the cause of the difference, certain it is that the initial trochee which terminates a word, more completely fills and satisfies the ear, than that really shorter trochee, which, embracing only part of a word, admits no interruption in the continuity of the voice, no pause whatever, that can at all aid in giving weight and emphasis to its second syllable: and the same effect is produced in every other station of the verse where a trochee occurs, as may easily be proved by altering such trochee and the following syllable to one solid trisyllabic word, corresponding in accent with the three syllables displaced. * I reserve to a future occasion to enter into a minute analytical examination of this our principal metre, foot by foot, The Pyrrhic ănd to the dead | my will--ing shade | shall go. (West. To qua- lity belongs | the high-f-est place. (Young. And all the te--nor of | his soul | is lost. (Parnell. His heart dilates, and glo-l-ries in | his strength. (Addison. And speak, though sure, with seem-l-ing dif-|-ƒï dence. ănd to | be ta-\-ken with | a sud-|-den pain. (Pope. (Young. as on a day, reflect--ing on | his age... (Lowth. Solem-1-nity's a co-l-věr for ¦ a sot. (Young. The Spondee born to thoughts, to plea--sures, more | sublime! (Langhorne. Forbear, great mān | in arms | renown'd, | forbear. The west--ern sun | now shot a fee-l-ble ray. (Addison. (Addison. That touch'd the ruff that touch'd Queen Bess-1-es* chin. (Young. and syllable by syllable, in all its different forms and modifications, on the extensive plan of the " Analysis" of the Hexameter Verse, in the last improved edition of my "Latin Prosody." * Queen Besses chin.-This spelling, though different from that of the printed copy now before me, is undoubtedly correct, and sanctioned by former usage, as may be seen by recurring to early editions of books written before the commencement of the last century and it has reason on its side, as well as custom. Our modern genitive S with the apostrophe (as John's, Peter's, |