The Art of English Poetry (1708) Part 2

_Despise it,--and more n.o.ble Thoughts pursue._ Dryd.

When the Accent falls on the 2d Syllable of the Verse, and the last save two of a Word, the Pause will be at the 4th; as,

_He meditates--his absent Enemy._ Dryd.

When the Accent is on the 4th of a Verse, the Pause will be either at the same Syllable, or at the 5th, or 6th.

At the same, when the Syllable of the Accent happens to be the last of a Word; as,

_Such huge Extreams--inhabit thy great Mind, G.o.d-like, unmov'd,--and yet, like Woman, kind._ Wall.

At the 5th in 2 manners:

1. When it happens to be the last save one of a Word; as,

_Like bright_ Aurora--_whose refulgent Ray Foretells the Fervour--of ensuing Day; And warns the Shepherd--with his Flocks, retreat To leafy Shadows--from the threaten'd Heat._ Wall.

2. Or the last of the Word, if the next be a Monosyllable govern'd by it; as,

_So fresh the Wound is--and the Grief so vast._ Wall.

At the 6th, when the Syllable of the Accent happens to be the last save two of a Word; as,

_Those Seeds of Luxury,--Debate, and Pride._ Wall.

Lastly, When the Accent is on the 6th Syllable of the Verse, the Pause will be either at the same Syllable, or at the 7th.

At the same, when the Syllable of the Accent happens to be the last of a Word; as,

_She meditates Revenge--resolv'd to die._ Wall.

At the 7th in two manners:

1. When it happens to be the last save one of a Word; as,

_Nor when the War is over,--is it Peace._ Dryd.

_Mirrors are taught to flatter,--but our Springs._ Wall.

2. Or the last of a Word, if the following one be a Monosyllable whose Construction depends on the preceeding Word on which the Accent is; as,

_And since he could not save her,--with her dy'd._ Dryd.

From all this it appears, that the Pause is determin'd by the Seat of the Accent; but if the Accents happen to be equally strong, on the 2d, 4th, and 6th Syllable of a Verse, the Sense and Construction of the Words must then guide to the Observation of the Pause: For Example; In one of the Verses I cited as an Instance of it at the 7th Syllable,

_Mirrors are taught to flatter, but our Springs._

The Accent is as strong on _Taught_, as on the first Syllable of _Flatter_, and if the Pause were observ'd at the 4th Syllable of the Verse, it would have nothing disagreeable in its Sound: as,

_Mirrors are taught--to flatter, but our Springs Present th' impartial Images of things._

Which tho' it be no Violence to the Ear, yet it is to the Sense, and that ought always carefully to be avoided in reading or in repeating of Verses.

For this Reason it is, that the Construction or Sense should never end at a Syllable where the Pause ought not to be made; as at the 8th and 2d in the two following Verses:

_Bright_ Hesper _twinkles from afar:--Away My Kids!--for you have had a Feast to day._ Staff.

Which Verses have nothing disagreeable in their Structure but the Pause; which in the first of them must be observ'd at the 8th Syllable, in the 2d at the 2d; and so unequal a Division can produce no true Harmony. And for this Reason too, the Pauses at the 3d and 7th Syllables, tho' not wholly to be condemn'd, ought to be but sparingly practis'd.

The foregoing Rules ought indispensibly to be follow'd in all our Verses of 10 Syllables; and the observation of them, like that of right Time in Musick, will produce Harmony; the neglect of them, Harshness and Discord; as appears by the following Verses.

_None think Rewards render'd worthy their Worth.

And both Lovers, both thy Disciples were,_ Dav.

In which tho' the true Number of Syllables be observ'd, yet neither of them have so much as the Sound of a Verse: Now their Disagreeableness proceeds from the undue Seat of the Accent: For Example, the first of them is accented on the 5th and 7th Syllables; but if we change the Words, and remove the Accent to the 4th and 6th, the Verse will become smooth and easie; as,

_None think Rewards are equal to their Worth._

The harshness of the last of them proceeds from its being accented on the 3d Syllable, which may be mended thus, by transposing only one Word;

_And Lovers both, both thy Disciples were._

In like manner the following Verses,

_To be ma.s.sacred, not in Battle slain._ Blac.

_But forc'd, harsh, and uneasie unto all._ Cowl.

_Against the Insults of the Wind and Tide._ Blac.

_A second Essay will the Pow'rs appease._ Blac.

_With_ Scythians _expert in the Dart and Bow._ Dryd.

are rough, because the foregoing Rules are not observ'd in their Structure: For Example, the first, where the Pause is at the 5th Syllable, and the Accent on the 3d, is contrary to the Rule which says, that the Accent that determines the Pause must be on the 2d, 4th, or 6th Syllable of the Verse; and to mend that Verse we need only place the Accent on the 4th, and then the Pause at the 5th will have nothing disagreeable, as,

_Thus to be murther'd, not in Battle slain._

The second Verse is Accented on the 3d Syllable, and the Pause is there too; which makes it indeed the thing it expresses, forc'd, harsh, and uneasie; it may be mended thus,

_But forc'd and harsh, uneasie unto all._