The English Language Part 121

3. Words abbreviated by apocope; in which case the penultimate is converted into a final syllable; [Greek: do'm', pheides'th', kentei't', ego'g'], &c.

Now the fact of a syllable with an arsis being, in Greek, rarely final, taken along with that of the sixth syllable requiring, in the senarius, an arsis, gives as a matter of necessity, the circ.u.mstance that, in the Greek drama, the sixth syllable shall occur anywhere rather than at the end of a word; and this is only another way of saying, that, in a tragic senarius, the syllable in question shall generally be followed by other syllables in the same word. All this the author considers as so truly a matter of necessity, that the objection to his view of the Greek caesura must lie either against his idea of the nature of the accents, or nowhere; since, that being admitted, the rest follows of course.

As the sixth syllable must not be final, it must be followed in the same word by one syllable, or by more than one.

1. _The sixth syllable followed by one syllable in the same word._--This is only another name for the seventh syllable occurring at the end of a word, and it gives at once the hepthimimer caesura: as

[Greek: Heko nekron keuthmo'na kai skotou pulas.]

[Greek: Hikteriois kladoi'sin exestemmenoi.]

[Greek: h.o.m.ou te paiano'n te kai stenagmaton.]

2. _The sixth syllables followed by two_ (_or more_) _syllables in the same word_. This is only another name for the eighth (or some syllable after the eighth) syllable occurring at the end of a word; as

[Greek: Odme broteion hai'maton me prosgela.]

[Greek: Lamprous dunastas em'prepontas aitheri.]

Now this arrangement of syllables, taken by itself, gives anything rather than a hepthimimer; so that if it was at this point that our investigations terminated, little would be done towards the evolution of the _rationale_ of the caesura. It will appear, however, that in those cases where the circ.u.mstance of the sixth syllable being followed by two others in the same words, causes the eighth (or some syllable after the eighth) to be final, either a penthimimer caesura, or an equivalent, will, with but few exceptions, be the result. This we may prove by taking the eighth syllable and counting back from it. What _follows_ this syllable is immaterial: it is the number of syllables in the same word that _precedes_ it that demands attention.

1. _The eighth syllable preceded in the same word by nothing._--This is equivalent to the seventh syllable at the end of the preceding word: a state of things which, as noticed above, gives the hepthimimer caesura.

[Greek: Anerithmon gela'sma pam|metor de ge.]

2. _The eighth syllable preceded in the same word by one syllable._--This is equivalent to the sixth syllable at the end of the word preceding; a state of things which, as noticed above, rarely occurs. When however it does occur, one of the three conditions under which a final syllable can take an arsis must accompany it. Each of these conditions requires notice.

[alpha]). With a non-enc.l.i.tic _mono_-syllable the result is a penthimimer caesura; since the syllable preceding a monosyllable is necessarily final.

[Greek: Heko sebi'zon so'n Klu'tai|mnestra kratos.]

No remark has been made by critics upon lines constructed in this manner, since the caesura is a penthimimer, and consequently their rules are undisturbed.

[beta]). With _poly_-syllabic circ.u.mflex futures const.i.tuting the third foot, there would be a violation of the current rules respecting the caesura. Notwithstanding this, if the views of the present paper be true, there would be no violation of the iambic character of the senarius.

Against such a line as

[Greek: Kago to son nemo' pothei|non aulion]

there is no argument _a priori_ on the score of the iambic character being violated; whilst in respect to objections derived from evidence _a posteriori_, there is sufficient reason for such lines being rare.

[gamma]). With _poly_-syllables abbreviated by apocope, we have the state of things which the metrists have recognised under the name of quasi-caesura; as

[Greek: Kenteite me pheide'sth' ego | 'tekon Parin.]

3. _The eighth syllable preceded in the same word by two syllables._--This is equivalent to the fifth syllable occurring at the end of the word preceding: a state of things which gives the penthimimer caesura; as

[Greek: Odme broteion hai' maton | me prosgela.]

[Greek: Lamprous dunastas em'prepon tas aitheri.]

[Greek: Apsuchon eiko pro'sgeloisa somatos.]

4. _The eighth syllable preceded in the same word by three or more than three syllables._--This is equivalent to the fourth (or some syllable preceding the fourth) syllable occurring at the end of the word preceding; a state of things which would include the third and fourth feet in one and the same word. This concurrence is denounced in the Supplement to the Preface to the Hecuba; where, however, the rule, as in the case of the quasi-caesura, from being based upon merely empirical evidence, requires limitation. In lines like

[Greek: Kai talla poll' epei'kasai | dikaion en,]

or (an imaginary example),

[Greek: Tois soisin aspide'strophois|in andrasi,]

there is no violation of the iambic character, and consequently no reason against similar lines having been written; although from the average proportion of Greek words like [Greek: epeikasai] and [Greek: aspidestrophoisin], there is every reason for their being rare.

After the details just given, the recapitulation is brief.

1. It was essential to the character of the senarius that the sixth syllable, or latter half of the third foot, should have an arsis, ictus metricus, or accent in the English sense. To this condition of the iambic rhythm the Greek tragedians, either consciously or unconsciously, adhered.

2. It was the character of the Greek language to admit an arsis on the last syllable of a word only under circ.u.mstances comparatively rare.

3. These two facts, taken together, caused the sixth syllable of a line to be anywhere rather than at the end of a word.

4. If followed by a single syllable in the same word, the result was a hepthimimer caesura.

5. If followed by more syllables than one, some syllable in an earlier part of the line ended the word preceding, and so caused either a penthimimer, a quasi-caesura, or the occurrence of the third and fourth foot in the same word.

6. As these two last-mentioned circ.u.mstances were rare, the general phaenomenon presented in the Greek senarius was the occurrence of either the penthimimer or hepthimimer.

7. Respecting these two sorts of caesura, the rules, instead of being exhibited in detail, may be replaced by the simple a.s.sertion that there should be an arsis on the sixth syllable. From this the rest follows.

8. Respecting the non-occurrence of the third and fourth feet in the same word, the a.s.sertion may be withdrawn entirely.

9. Respecting the quasi-caesura, the rules, if not altogether withdrawn, may be extended to the admission of the last syllable of circ.u.mflex futures (or to any other polysyllables with an equal claim to be considered accented on the last syllable) in the latter half of the third foot.

[72] _Sceolon_, _aron_, and a few similar words, are no real exceptions, being in structure not present tenses but preterites.

[73] Quarterly Review, No. clxiv.

[74] Quarterly Review, No. clxiv.

[75] From the Quarterly Review, No. cx.

[76] From the Quarterly Review, No. cx.

[77] Apparently a _lapsus calami_ for _spede_.

[78] J. M. Kemble, "On Anglo-Saxon Runes," _Archaeologia_, vol. xxviii.

[79] But not of _Great Britain_. The Lowland Scotch is, probably, more Danish than any South-British dialect.

[80] In opposition to the typical Northumbrian.

[81] Quarterly Review--_ut supra_.

[82] The subject is a Lincolnshire tradition; the language, also, is pre-eminently Danish. On the other hand, the modern Lincolnshire dialect is by no means evidently descended from it.