4. The fourth form of trochaic verse, contains four trochaic feet, and rarely has the long syllable appended. EXAMPLE. Seo the ruddy | mōrning | smiling, Zephyrs through the woodland playing, 5. The fifth form of trochaic verse has five, and the sixth, has six trochaic feet; but neither form is in common use. There are no poetic compositions consisting of spondees or pyrrhics exclusively; yet they are in common use in poetry, with other forms of poetic feet. 3. Anapestic Verse. The Anapest is a poetic foot, consisting of two short syllables and one long one; as, contrăvēne. There are four forms of this kind of verse; the first, consisting of one anapestic foot, and the last, of four. 1. The first form of anapestic verso, contains one anapestic foot. 2. The second form of anapestic verse, has two anapestic feet. EXAMPLE. 'Tis but fair | to běliēve, That the man may deceive. QUESTIONS. Of what does the fourth consist? The fifth and sixth? Are there any poetic compositions consisting exclusively of spondees or pyrrhics? How are they used? Of what does an anapest consist? Which syllable is accented? Which are unaccented? How many forms has anapestic verse? Of what does the first consist? The second? NOTE. Sometimes this form has an additional short syllable. EXAMPLE. Then his cōur | ǎge dĭd fail | him, For no ārts | could ăvāil | hìm. 3. The third form of anapestic verse, has three anapestic feet. EXAMPLE. Ì ăm mōn | ǎrch of āll | Ĭ sŭrvēy ; And my right there is none | to dispute; I am lord of the fowl | and the brute. 4. The fourth form of anapestic verse, has four anapestic feet. EXAMPLE. Ŏh! this thought | in thě mīdst | Ŏf ěnjōy | měnt will stay, Like ǎ dead | lěaflèss brānch | in the sum | měr's bright rāy; And the beams | of the sun | play around | it in vain; It may smile in its light, | but it blooms | not again. NOTE. The above form sometimes begins with an iambus, and has an additional short syllable at the end of the line. EXAMPLE. His robe was the whirl | wind, his voice | was the thūn | děr, And earth | ǎt his foōt | steps, was rīv | ĕn ăsûn | děr. 4. Dactylic Verse. The Dactyl is a poetic foot, consisting of one long and two short syllables; as, pōndĕrous. NOTE 1. Poems consisting wholly of dactyls are rare. When two or three dactyls are used, it is quite common to close the line with a trochee, or a short syllable. In the following example, the first line QUESTIONS. Of what does the third form consist? The fourth? How does this form sometimes begin and end? Of what does a dactyl consist? How do lines sometimes close in dactylic verse? and the third are composed of dactyls, except the last foot; and the second line and the fourth are anapests except the first foot. EXAMPLE. Daughter of Zĩŏn, å | wāke from thỹ | sadness; NOTE 2. There are no poems consisting exclusively of amphi brachs, tribrachs, or pyrrhics. These, as poetic feet, however, are occasionally thrown in with other forms of verse, merely for variety, or as substitutes. NOTE 3. Although poetic lines consist of different numbers of feet, still, those feet may consist of iambuses, trochees, or other forms, embodied in the same line. SECTION II. CONSTRUCTION OF BLANK-VERSE. BLANK-VERSE Consists of thoughts, expressed in regular poetic feet, but without that correspondence of sound at the end of the lines, which rhyme requires. 1. It is a noble, bold, and disencumbered species of versification, and is peculiarly suited to subjects, dignified and sublime, which demand more free and manly numbers than rhyme. EXAMPLE. Săme ān | gël guide | mỹ pēn | cil while | I drāw, What nothing else | than an | gel can | exceed, A man on earth | devot | ed to the skies. QUESTIONS What is note second? What is note third? Of what does blank verse consist? To what subjects is it peculiarly suited? 2. Epic poetry may be written in blank-verse or rhyme; and, in either case, it consists of five iambic feet, or what is equivalent thereto. Milton's Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blankverse, and each complete line, has five poetic feet. EXAMPLE. But bid her well | běwāre, | ǎnd still | ĕrect, To do what God | express | ly hath | forbid. 3. Pope's translation of Homer's Iliad, is an epic poem in rhyme, of the same measure, unless, as occasionally, an Alexandrine is substituted for a line of regular length. EXAMPLES. 1. Then Jōve | from I | dă's a tōp | his hōr | rŏrs spreads; 2. Dispersed around | the plain, | by fits | they fight, 4. All kinds of poetry, whether in rhyme or blank-verse, as lyrics, odes, psalms, hymns, songs, ballads, sonnets, or whatever called, are written in some one of the foregoing forms, or in the combination of two or more of them; and no pupil can fail to designate the name of each foot, when he has once learned the number and quantity of the syllables of which it is composed. Ida, a mountain in Asia Minor, at the base of which was ancient Troy. QUESTIONS. How may epic poetry be written? What poems are specimens of epic poetry Must all kinds of poetry be written in some one of the preceding forms, or a combination of them K HARMONIC pauses are employed in the reading of poetry, to produce a smooth and harmonious utterance. They are commonly divided into the Casural, Demi-casural, and Final; and occur both in rhyme and blank-verse. These pauses are peculiar to poetry, and are employed in addition to those used in prose. Their length, like the grammatical and rhetorical, must be decided by the taste of the reader. 1. Casural Pause. The Casural pause, marked thus (), divides a poetic line into equal or unequal parts. Its object is to denote such pauses as the melody requires, independently of the metrical feet and the grammatical relation of words. The cæsural pause commonly occurs near the middle of the line; generally after the fourth, fifth, or sixth syllable, and but rarely after the second or eighth. 1. When this pause falls after the fourth syllable, the briskest melody is thereby formed, and the most spirited air is given to the line or verse. EXAMPLE. On her white breast || a sparkling cross she wore, QUESTIONS. For what are harmonic pauses employed? How are they divided? Are the pauses used in prose also used in poetry? What pauses are peculiar to poetry? What is their length? For what is the cæsural pause used, or what is its object? Where does it commonly occur?. Where should it occur to produce the briskest melody? |