These positions and measures get the names Dissyllabic and Trisyllabic, and are typified by single words like these (1) a'ble; (2) ago'; (3) pret'tily; (4) discern'ing; (5) reprimand'. The various regularly accented groups, or measures, which involve these different recurrences, are repeated to form verses. A verse (which commonly assumes the form of a single line, though not always) is determined in length according to the number of the repetitions. These, for practical purposes, are seldom less than two (the dimeter), or more than eight. Often, in the case of the 1st and 3d measures, in which the accent falls on the first syllable, the last measure of the verse is shortened by the omission of the unaccented part; in like manner, the closing unaccented syllable of the 4th measure may be dropped. On the other hand, the 2d and 5th, accented on the last, may be supplemented at the end by an additional unaccented syllable forming no part of any new measure. censes are admissible in all. Occasionally it happens that one measure is introduced into a verse made up of another, variety and greater emphasis being thereby obtained; for example, the 1st and 2d may be thus interchanged. This liberty is taken still more frequently in the trisyllabic measures, where, too, the dropping out of unaccented syllables and the insertion of supernumeraries in any part of the verse, are far from uncommon. The interchange of dactyls, anapæsts, and spondees in certain of the classical metres, is a parallel case. Li 139. Here follow some Examples of the most common verses in the different measures. The use of the ancient descriptive epithets is abandoned, because of their evident incongruity, except to designate in a general way the measures themselves. I. Dissyllabic Measures. 1. The First, or Trochaic, Measure. Pope' is ban'ish'd, Joys' are van'ish'd— Gen'tle I riv'er, I gen'tle | riv'er Lo' thy streams are | stain'd' with | gore' DISSYLLABIC MEASURES. 287 And' the | ra'ven, | nev'er | flit'ting,-still' is | sit'ting, still' is sitting On' the | pal'lid | bust' of | Pal'las, | just' above' my | cham'ber | door' The trochaic measure has a light tripping movement, and is peculiarly fitted for lively subjects, although the examples now quoted are of a different kind. It is employed largely in simple nursery rhymes. 2. The Second, or For in I love' Iambic, Measure. The strains' decay' my mind', | of all' | mankind' O Caledonia, stern' | and wild'— And found' | no end', | in wan' d'ring ma'|zes lost'— Such' as creation's dawn' | beheld' | thou roll' est now' The spacious fir' mament' | on high', | with all' | the blue' | ethe' | real sky The Iambic measure, being the least elevated, is most easily kept up. It is therefore in very common use, and is peculiarly adapted for long poems. II. Trisyllabic Measures. 1. The Third, or Dactylic, Measure. Take' her up ten'derly Lift' her with care' Thou' who art | bear'ing my | buck'ler and | bow'— Strong'ly it bears' us a long' in | swell'ing and | lim'itless | bill'ows. 2. The Fourth, or Amphibrachic, Measure. The black' bands | came o'ver The Alps' and the snow My cour'sers are fed' with | the light'ning, There came to the shore' a | poor ex'ile | of E'rin, 3. The Fifth, or Anapastic, Measure. To the fame' of your name' See the snakes' that they rear', Shall vic' tor exult,' | or in death' | be laid low', With his back' | to the field', | and his feet' | to the foe' All the Trisyllabic measures have a quieker movement than the Dissyllabic, owing to the greater number of unaccented syllables; they are characterized in the main by rushing impetuosity. Mention has been already made of their readiness to admit irregularities, and to change places. Indeed, they can scarcely be called distinct measures; thus the fourth, for example, shows clear traces of dactylic rhythm. We might scan the last-quoted specimen thus: --- There came' to the shore' a poor | ex'ile of | E'rin, making the first syllable of the lines unemphatic, on the principle of the anacrusis, or bact-stroke, of the classical metres. We have then verses of properly dactylic measure, the one line leading continuously on to the next. The rarity of the pure dactylic measure in English is no longer a matter of wonder, seeing it is thus found so often disguised. Coleridge's Christabel, and some of Byron's poems, are written in a metre disposed in lines varying in length from seven to twelve syllables, but always containing four accented positions; thus, I won' der'd what' I might ail' | the bird'; For no' thing near' it could' | I see', Save the gra8s and green herbs' | underneath' | the old tree'. Though Coleridge called this a new principle, the only thing new was the systematic execution. Alliteration. 140. When Metre is understood in its most comprehensive sense as 66 the recurrence within certain intervals of syllables similarly affected," Alliteration, which means the recurrence at short intervals of the same initial letter, may be described as a metrical ornament. Attempted, more or less, in the poetry of almost all languages, alliteration was especially used, as the main feature of versification, in the Old German, Anglo-Saxon, and Scandinavian poetry. According to strict usage, two or three words in one line, and one word in the next, began with the same letter; as is seen in this extract from the well-known poem of the 14th century, Piers Ploughman :— "There preached a pardoner With many bishops' seals." Although the effect of alliteration cannot well have been consciously sought after in later English poetry, it is curious to note how often it is found, even to perfection, in the verses of Milton, Coleridge, Shelley, Tennyson, &c. A few examples may be given :— "Of man's first disobedience, and the fruit Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste—" "The fair breeze blew, the white /oam flew The furrow followed free." "Like a glowworm golden In a dell of dew—" "And on a sudden, lo! the level lake And the long glories of the winter moon." That there is something naturally pleasing in such conjunctions, is evident from their frequency in current sayings and proverbs. For instance: "Life and limb," "Watch and ," "Man and mouse," "Far fowls have fair feathers." An extreme case of alliteration is found in the line, ward," "Let lovely lilacs line Lee's lonely lane." Rhyme. 141. Rhyme, also, can be called metrical in the wide sense, as determining a recurrence of sound in the closing syllable or syllables of different verses. It is a poetical ornament peculiar to poetry subsequent to the classical period, and by no means universally employed. Blank verse, in which so much of English poetry is written, discards rhyme altogether. Possibly it was a sense of the comparative paucity of English rhymes, as well as veneration for classical models, that caused Ben Jonson, Milton, and others, to rebel against its fetters. Rhyme, however, is so pleasing and so easily understood, as to stand higher than any other poetical artifice in popular estimation. The existence of so-called doggerel verses is a rude testimony to its power. Three conditions are required in a perfect rhyme of two syllables. 1. The vowel-sound and whatever follows it, must be the same in both: long, song; sea, free. 2. The articulation before the vowel-sound must be different: green, spleen; call, /all, all. The letter k is not considered a distinct articulation; heart, art, are improper rhymes. 3. Both must be accented: try', sigh'; not try', bright/y. As rhyme depends upon sound only, the spelling is of no consequence: bear, hare, are rhymes; not so, bear, fear. Rhymes are Single; as, plain, grain :—Double; as, glo-ry, sto-ry-or Triple; as, read-i-ly, stead-i-ly. In double and triple rhymes, the last syllables are unaccented, and are really appendages to the true rhyming sound, which alone fulfils the conditions laid down above: cul'minate, /ul'minate. Rhymes are not confined to the close of separate verses, but are sometimes found in the middle and at the end of the same Some lines from Shelley's Cloud will illustrate both verse. cases:— "I bring fresh showers for the thirsting flowers From the seas and the streams; I bear light shade for the leaves when laid Repetitions of like vowel-sounds, where other conditions of perfect rhyme are neglected, get the name of Assonances. These have no regular place in English poetry, as they have in some other languages, but they are occasionally found instead of rhymes in old ballads. For example: "And Cloudesly lay ready there in a cart, Fast bound, both foot and hand; And a strong rope about his neck, Two lines or verses rhyming together in succession form a couplet; three, a triplet or tercet. Groups of four lines, which may rhyme in various combinations, are called quatrains. A |