Part 2

The Structure of our Verses, whether Blank, or in Rhyme, consists in a certain Number of Syllables; not in Feet compos'd of long and short Syllables, as the Verses of the _Greeks_ and _Romans_. And though some ingenious Persons formerly puzzled themselves in prescribing Rules for the Quantity of _English_ Syllables, and, in Imitation of the _Latins_, compos'd Verses by the measure of _Spondees_, _Dactyls_, &c., yet the Success of their Undertaking has fully evinc'd the Vainness of their Attempt, and given ground to suspect they had not throughly weigh'd what the Genius of our Language would bear; nor reflected that each Tongue has its peculiar Beauties, and that what is agreeable and natural to one, is very often disagreeable, nay, inconsistent with another. But that Design being now wholly exploded, it is sufficient to have mention'd it.

Our Verses then consist in a certain Number of Syllables; but the Verses of double Rhyme require a Syllable more than those of single Rhyme. Thus in a Poem whose Verses consist of ten Syllables, those of the same Poem that are accented on the last save one, which we call Verses of double Rhyme, must have eleven; as may be seen by these Verses.

_A Man so various that he seem'd to be Not one, but all Mankind's Epitome: Stiff in Opinion, always in the Wrong, Was ev'ry thing by starts, and nothing long: But, in the Course of one revolving Moon, Was Fidler, Chymist, Statesman, and Buffoon: Then all for Women, Painting, Rhyming, Drinking; Besides ten thousand Freaks that dy'd in Thinking. Praising and Railing were his usual Themes; And both, to shew his Judgment, in Extreams. So over-violent, or over-civil, That every Man with him was God or Devil._ Dryd.

Where the 4 Verses that are accented on the last save one, have 11 Syllables; the others, accented on the last, but 10.

In a Poem whose Verses consist of 8, the double Rhymes require 9, as,

_When hard Words, Jealousies and Fears, Set Folks together by the Ears; And made 'em fight, like mad, or drunk, For Dame Religion, as for Punk; Whose Honesty they all durst swear for, Tho' not a Man of 'em know wherefore: Then did Sir Knight abandon Dwelling, And out he rode a Collonelling._ Hud.

In a Poem whose Verses consist of 7, the double Rhymes require 8, as,

_All thy Verse is softer far Than the downy Feathers are Of my Wings, or of my Arrows; Of my Mother's Doves or Sparrows._ Cowl.

This must also be observ'd in Blank Verse; as,

_Welcom, thou worthy Partner of my Lawrels! Thou Brother of my Choice! a Band more sacred Than Nature's brittle Tye. By holy Friendship! Glory and Fame stood still for thy Arrival, My Soul seem'd wanting of its better Half, And languish'd for thy Absence, like a Prophet, Who waits the Inspiration of his God._ Rowe.

And this Verse of _Milton_,

_Void of all Succour and needful Comfort,_

wants a Syllable; for, being accented on the last save one, it ought to have 11, as all the Verses, but two, of the preceeding Example have: But if we transpose the Words thus,

_Of Succour and all needful Comfort void,_

it then wants nothing of its due Measure, because it is accented on the last Syllable.

SECT. I.

_Of the several Sorts of Verses; and first of those of ten Syllables. Of the due Observation of the Accent; and of the Pause._

Our Poetry admits for the most part but of three sorts of Verses; that is to say, of Verses of 10, 8, or 7 Syllables: Those of 4, 6, 9, 11, 12, and 14, are generally imploy'd in Masks and Operas, and in the Stanzas of Lyrick and Pindarick Odes, and we have few intire Poems compos'd in any of those sorts of Verses. Those of 12, and of 14 Syllables, are frequently inserted in our Poems in Heroick Verse, and when rightly made use of, carry a peculiar Grace with them. _See the next Section towards the end._

The Verses of 10 Syllables, which are our Heroick, are us'd in Heroick Poems, in Tragedies, Comedies, Pastorals, Elegies; and sometimes in Burlesque.

In these Verses two things are chiefly to be consider'd.

1. The Seat of the Accent. 2. The Pause.

For, 'tis not enough that Verses have their just Number of Syllables: the true Harmony of them depends on a due Observation of the Accent and Pause.

The Accent is an Elevation, or a Falling of the Voice, on a certain Syllable of a Word.

The Pause is a Rest or Stop that is made in pronouncing the Verse, and that divides it, as it were, into two parts; each of which is call'd an Hemistich, or Half-Verse.

But this Division is not always equal, that is to say, one of the Half-verses does not always contain the same Number of Syllables as the other: and this Inequality proceeds from the Seat of the Accent that is strongest, and prevails most in the first Half-verse. For, the Pause must be observ'd at the end of the Word where such Accent happens to be, or at the end of the following Word.

Now in a Verse of 10 Syllables, this Accent must be either on the 2d, 4th, or 6th; which produces 5 several Pauses, that is to say, at the 3d, 4th, 5th, 6th, or 7th Syllable of the Verse; For,

When it happens to be on the 2d, the Pause will be either at the 3d, or 4th.

At the 3d, in two manners:

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

_As busy--as intentive Emmets are; Or Cities--whom unlook'd-for Sieges scare._ Dav.

2. Or, when the Accent is on the last of a Word, and the next a Monosyllable, whose Construction is govern'd by that on which the Accent is; as,

_Despise it,--and more noble 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, God-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 massacred, 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._

The 3d, 4th, and 5th of those Verses, have like faults; for the Pauses are at the 5th, and the Accent there too, which is likewise contrary to the foregoing Rules: Now they will be made smooth and flowing, by taking the Accent from the 5th, and removing the Seat of the Pause; as,

_Against th' Insults both of the Wind and Tide. A second Trial will the Pow'rs appease. With_ Scythians _skilfull in the Dart and Bow._

From whence we conclude, that in all Verses of 10 Syllables, the most prevailing Accents ought to be on the 2d, 4th, or 6th Syllables; for if they are on the 3d, 5th, or 7th, the Verses will be rough and disagreeable, as has been prov'd by the preceeding Instances.

In short, the wrong placing of the Accent is as great a fault in our Versification, as false Quantity was in that of the Antients; and therefore we ought to take equal care to avoid it, and endeavour so to dispose the Words, that they may create a certain Melody in the Ear, without Labour to the Tongue, or Violence to the Sense.

SECT. II.

_Of the other Sorts of Verses that are us'd in our Poetry._

After the Verses of 10 Syllables, those of 8 are most frequent, and we have many intire Poems compos'd in them.

In the Structure of these Verses, as well as of those of 10 Syllables, we must take care that the most prevailing Accents be neither on the 3d nor 5th Syllables of them.

They also require a Pause to be observ'd in pronouncing them, which is generally at the 4th, or 5th Syllable; as,

_I'll sing of Heroes,--and of Kings, } In mighty Numbers--mighty things; } Begin, my_ Muse,--_but lo the Strings, } To my great Song--rebellious prove, The Strings will sound--of nought but Love._ Cowl.

The Verses of 7 Syllables, which are call'd _Anacreontick_, are most beautiful when the strongest Accent is on the 3d, and the Pause either there, or at the 4th, as,

_Fill the Bowl--with rosy Wine, Round our Temples--Roses twine; Crown'd with Roses--we contemn_ Gyges _wealthy--Diadem._ Cowl.

The Verses of 9, and of 11 Syllables, are of two sorts, one is those that are accented upon the last save one, which are only the Verses of double Rhyme that belong to those of 8 and 10 Syllables, of which Examples have already been given. The other is those that are accented on the last Syllable, which are employ'd only in Compositions for Musick, and in the lowest sort of Burlesque Poetry; the disagreeableness of their Measure having wholly excluded them from grave and serious Subjects. They who desire to see Examples of them, may find some scatter'd here and there in our Masks, and Operas, and in our Burlesque Writers. I will give but two.

Hilas, O Hilas, _why sit we mute? Now that each Bird saluteth the Spring._ Wall.

_Apart let me view then each Heavenly Fair, For three at a time there's no Mortal can bear._ Congr.

The Verses of 12 Syllables are truly Heroick, both in their Measure and Sound; tho' we have no intire Works compos'd in them; and they are so far from being a Blemish to the Poems they are in, that on the contrary, when rightly employed, they conduce not a little to the Ornament of them; particularly in the following Rencounters.

1. When they conclude an Episode in an Heroick Poem: Thus _Stafford_ ends his Translation of that of _Camilla_ from the 11th AEneid, with a Verse of 12 Syllables.

_The ling'ring Soul th' unwelcom Doom receives, And, murm'ring with Disdain, the beauteous Body leaves._

2. When they conclude a Triplet and full Sense together; as,

_Millions of op'ning Mouths to Fame belong; } And every Mouth is furnish'd with a Tongue; } And round with list'ning Ears the flying Plague is hung._ Dryd. }

And here we may observe by the way, that whenever a Triplet is made use of in an Heroick Poem, it is a fault not to close the Sense at the end of the Triplet, but to continue it into the next Line; as _Dryden_ has done in his Translation of the 11th AEneid in those Lines.

_With Olives crown'd, the Presents they shall bear, } A Purple Robe, a Royal Iv'ry Chair, } And all the Marks of Sway that_ Latian _Monarchs wear, } And Sums of Gold_, &c.

And in the 7th AEneid he has committed the like fault.

_Then they, whose Mothers, frantick with their Fear, } In Woods and Wilds the Flags of_ Bacchus _bear, } And lead his Dances with dishevel'd Hair, } Increase the Clamour_, &c.

But the Sense is not confin'd to the Couplet, for the Close of it may fall into the middle of the next Verse, that is the Third, and sometimes farther off: Provided the last Verse of the Couplet exceed not the Number of ten Syllables; for then the Sense ought always to conclude with it. Examples of this are so frequent, that 'tis needless to give any.

3. When they conclude the Stanzas of Lyrick or Pindarick Odes; Examples of which are often seen in _Dryden_, and others.

In these Verses the Pause ought to be at the 6th Syllable, as may be seen in the foregoing Examples.

We sometimes find it, tho' very rarely, at the 7th; as,

_That such a cursed Creature--lives so long a space._

When it is at the 4th, the Verse will be rough and hobbling: as,

_And Midwife Time--the ripen'd Plot to Murther brought._ Dryd.

_The Prince pursu'd--and march'd along with equal Pace._ Dryd.

In the last of which it is very apparent, that if the Sense and Construction would allow us to make the Pause at the 6th Syllable,

_The Prince pursu'd, and march'd--along with equal Pace._

the Verse would be much more flowing and easie.

The Verses of 14 Syllables are less frequent than those of 12; they are likewise inserted in Heroick Poems, _&c._ and are agreeable enough when they conclude a Triplet and Sense, and follow a Verse of 12; as,

_For thee the Land in fragrant Flowers is drest; } For thee the Ocean smiles, and smooths her wavy Breast, Dryd.} And Heav'n it self with more serene and purer Light is blest._ }

But if they follow one of 10 Syllables, the Inequality of the Measure renders them less agreeable; as,

_While all thy Province, Nature, I survey, (Dryd.} And sing to_ Memmius _an Immortal Lay } Of Heav'n and Earth; and every where thy wondrous Pow'r display_ }

Especially if it be the last of a Couplet only; as,

_With Court-Informers haunts, and Royal Spies, Things done relates, not done she feigns, and mingles Truth with Lies._ (Dryd.

But this is only in Heroicks; for in Pindaricks and Lyricks, Verses of 12 or 14 Syllables are frequently and gracefully plac'd, not only after those of 12 or 10, but of any other number of Syllables whatsoever.

The Verses of 4 and 6 Syllables have nothing worth observing, and therefore I shall content my self with having made mention of them. They are, as I said before, us'd only in Operas, and Masks, and in Lyrick and Pindarick Odes. Take one Example of them.

_To rule by Love, To shed no Blood, May be extoll'd above; But here below, Let Princes know, 'Tis fatal to be good._ Dryd.

SECT. III.

_Several Rules conducing to the Beauty of our Versification._

Our Poetry being very much polish'd and refin'd since the Days of _Chaucer_, _Spencer_ and the other antient Poets, some Rules which they neglected, and that conduce very much to the Ornament of it, have been practis'd by the best of the Moderns.

The first is, to avoid as much as possible the Concourse of Vowels, which occasions a certain ill-sounding Gaping, call'd by the Latins _Hiatus_; and which they thought so disagreeable to the Ear, that, to avoid it, whenever a Word ended in a Vowel, and the next began with one, they never, even in Prose, sounded the Vowel of the first Word, but lost it in the Pronunciation; and it is a fault in our Poets not to do the like, whenever our Language will admit of it.

For this Reason, the _e_ of the Particle _The_ ought always to be cut off before the Words that begin by a Vowel; as,

_With weeping Eyes she heard th' unwelcome News._ Dryd.

And it is a fault to make _The_ and the first Syllable of the following word two distinct Syllables, as in this,

_Refrain'd a while by the unwelcome Night._ Wall.

A second sort of _Hiatus_, and that ought no less to be avoided is, when a Word that ends in a Vowel that cannot be cut off, is plac'd before one that begins by the same Vowel, or one that has the like Sound; as,

_Should thy Iambicks swell into a Book._ Wall.

The second Rule is, to contract the two last Syllables of the Preterperfect Tenses of all the Verbs that will admit of it; which are all the Regular Verbs whatsoever, except only those ending in D or T, and DE or TE. And it is a fault to make _Amazed_ of three Syllables, and _Loved_ of two; instead of _Amaz'd_ of two, and _Lov'd_ of one.

And the second Person of the Present and Preterperfect Tenses of all Verbs ought to be contracted in like manner; as _thou lov'st_, for _thou lovest_, &c.

The third Rule is, not to make use of several Words in a Verse that begin by the same Letter; as,

_The Court he knew to steer in Storms of State. He in these Miracles Design discern'd._ Dav.

Yet we find an Instance of such a Verse in _Dryden's_ Translation of the first Pastoral of _Virgil_;

_Till then a helpless, hopeless, homely Swain._

Which I am perswaded he left not thus through Negligence or Inadvertency, but with design to paint in the Number and Sound of the Words the thing he describ'd, a Shepherd in whom

_Nec spes libertatis erat, nec cura peculi._

Now how far the Sound of the _H_ aspirate, with which three Feet of that Verse begin, expresses the Despair of the Swain, let the Judicious judge: I have taken notice of it only to say, that 'tis a great Beauty in Poetry, when the Words and Numbers are so dispos'd, as by their Order and Sound to represent the things describ'd.

The fourth is, to avoid ending a Verse by an Adjective whose Substantive begins the following; as,

_Some lost their quiet Rivals, some their kind Parents_, &c. Dav.

Or, by a Preposition when the Case it governs begins the Verse that follows; as,

_The daily less'ning of our Life, shews by A little dying, how outright to dye._ Wall.

The fifth is, to avoid the frequent Use of Words of many Syllables, which are proper enough in Prose, but come not into Verse without a certain Violence altogether disagreeable; particularly those whose Accent is on the fourth Syllable from the last; as _Undutifulness_.

SECT. IV.

_Doubts concerning the Number of Syllables of certain Words._

There is no Language whatsoever, that so often joyns several Vowels together to make Diphthongs of them, as ours; this appears in our having several compos'd of three different Vowels: as EAU, and EOU in _Beauteous_: IOU in _Glorious_, UAI in _Acquaint_, &c.

Now from hence may arise some Difficulties concerning the true Pronunciation of those Vowels: Whether they ought to be sounded separately in two Syllables, or joyntly in one.

The antient Poets made them sometimes of two Syllables, sometimes but of one, as the Measure of their Verse requir'd; but they are now become to be but of one, and it is a fault to make them of two: From whence we may draw this general Rule;

That whenever one Syllable of a Word ends in a Vowel, and the next begins by one, provided the first of those Syllables be not that on which the Word is accented, those two Syllables ought in Verse to be contracted and made but one.

Thus _Beauteous_ is but two Syllables, _Victorious_ but three, and it is a fault in _Dryden_, to make it four, as he has done in this Verse:

_Your Arms are on the_ Rhine _victorious._

To prove that this Verse wants a Syllable of its due Measure, we need but add one to it; as,

_Your Arms are on the_ Rhine _victorious now._

Where tho' the Syllable _now_ be added to the Verse, it has no more than its due number of Syllables, which plainly proves it wanted it.

But if the Accent be upon the first of these Syllables, they cannot be contracted to make a Diphthong, but must be computed as two distinct Syllables: Thus _Poet_, _Lion_, _Quiet_, and the like, must always be us'd as two Syllables: _Poetry_ and the like, as three.

And it is a fault to make _Riot_, for Example, one Syllable, as _Milton_ has done in this Verse.

_Their Riot ascends above their lofty Tow'rs._

The same Poet has in another place made use of a like Word twice in one Verse, and made it two Syllables each time.

_With Ruin upon Ruin, Rout on Rout._

And any Ear may discover that this last Verse has its true Measure, the other not.

But there are some Words that may be excepted; as _Diamond_, _Violet_, _Violent_, _Diadem_, _Hyacinth_, and perhaps some others, which, though they are accented upon the first Vowel, are sometimes us'd but as two Syllables; as in the following Verses,