Chapter 8

_SIR,_

It has been said by several Persons, especially by Foreigners, that there is no such thing as Measure or Feet, or long and short Syllables in _English_ Words. This Mistake, I believe, is chiefly owing to _Vossius_, who has advanc'd it in his Treatise _De Poematum Cantu_, &c. As also, that the _French_ Language is more fit for Heroick Verse than the _English_. To examine one or both of these Points will be the Subject of this Letter.

That our Language does not abound with Dactyls and Spondees is very true; but that we have Words enough which are perfect Iambick and Trochaick Feet is very certain, and this naturally makes our Verse Iambick.

_Divine_, _Attend_, _Directs_, are as perfect Iambicks as any _Latin_ Words of two Syllables, and so are most of our Monosyllable Nouns with their Particles.

_The Lord_, _The Man_, _The Rock_. Every one must perceive that in all these Words, the last Syllable strikes the Ear more than the first, or, in other Words, the last is longer than the first, which is all that makes an Iambick _Latin_ Foot.

The following Words, _People_, _Substance_, _Angels_, _Chearful_, and the like, are all Trochaick Feet; for it is easily observ'd, that the first Syllable dwells longer on the Ear than the latter.

I wonder that _Vossius_, who was a Canon of _Windsor_, did not perceive this in the Metre which he could not but often have heard at Church.

"All People that on Earth do dwell Sing to the Lord with chearful Voice.

Suppose these two Lines were alter'd thus,

"All ye People that on Earth dwell, Sing to the Lord with Voice chearful.

Here the natural Sound of the Words _People_ and _Chearful_ is very much alter'd, by their being wrong plac'd; or rather, the Verse is quite destroy'd: But to chuse an Example from _Milton_.

"And if our _Substance_ be _indeed Divine_.--

Let this be alter'd,

"And indeed Divine if be our Substance.--

Is not the Verse quite destroy'd by this Alteration? And does it not appear to be so, because _Indeed_ and _Divine_, which are Iambick Feet, are plac'd as if they were Trochaick, and _Substance_, which is a Trochaick Foot, is plac'd as if it were an Iambick? But I might have omitted the altering of this Line of _Milton_'s, if I had thought of one in _Cowley's Davideis_, which is as barbarous as it is possible for the Wit of Man to make a Verse.

"To Divine Nobé directs then his Flight. _Lib. 3. v. 3._

_Nobé_, Mr. _Cowley_ says in his Notes, he puts instead of _Nob_, because that Word seem'd to him to be _unheroical_. But that is not what I am chiefly to take notice of. _Divine_ and _Directs_ are both Iambicks, but Mr. _Cowley_ has made them both Trochaicks, which makes this Line so terrible to the Ear.

It is plain that _Vossius_, who came into _England_ when he was pretty much advanc'd in Years, and in all probability convers'd chiefly in _Latin_ or _French_, knew nothing at all of the Pronunciation of _English_ Words. We have as certainly Feet or Numbers in our Language, as in the _Latin_; and indeed the _Latin_ seems to me to be rather more arbitrary in this respect than the _English_. What Reason can be given why _ma_ in _manus_ is short, and _ma_ in _manes_ long? Why is _a_ in _amens_ long, and _a_ in _amans_ short, and the like of other Words too numerous to relate?

That all _English_ Verses are _Iambick_, appears most plainly by considering Monosyllable Lines. For Example:

"Arms and the Man I sing, who forc'd by Fate.

Here _Arms_, _the_, _I_, _who_, _by_, appear to be shorter in their Sound than _and_, _man_, _sing_, _forc'd_, _fate_.

Again,

"Breathe soft or loud, and wave your Tops, ye Pines.

In this Line the same Difference is perceiv'd between _breathe_, _or_, _your_, _ye_; and _soft_, _loud_, _wave_, _tops_, _pines_.

Whence it is evident that these Lines are perfectly Iambick.

The Particle _and_, as well as some other Monosyllables, may be said to be common, like many Words in _Latin_; they submit themselves to be alter'd by the Voice in reading, and may be pronounced either long or short: But this is not so in other Words. And here it may be proper to observe, that _Milton_ has a very artful Way of varying his Numbers, by putting a Trochaick Foot at the Beginning of a Verse; and the Reason why he could do it, is, that the Verse is not enough form'd in that place for the Ear to perceive the Want of the proper Measure. The Examples of this kind are very numerous: I will mention but two.

"_Angels_, for ye behold him, and with Song.

And again,

"_Fountains_, and ye that warble as ye flow.

Nov. 27. 1736.

_I am_, SIR, _&c._