Like a dark ceiling stood: down rushed the rain 2. My friend, adown life's valley ́, hand in hand, And when stern death shall loose that loving band, Yea, when my heart seems happy causelessly, And swells, not dreaming why, my soul shall know 3. Here rests his head upon the lap of earth, He gained from Heaven ́, ('t was all he wished ́,) a friend`. 5. No further seek his merits to disclose, Or draw his frailties from their last abode ́, (There, they, alike, in trembling hope repose,) ACCENT AND EMPHASIS. IN reading verse, every syllable must have the same accent, and every word the same emphasis as in prose; and whenever the melody or music of the verse would lead to an incorrect accent or emphasis, this must be disregarded. If a poet has made his verse deficient in melody, this must not be remedied by the reader, at the expense of sense or the established rules of accent and quantity. Take the following EXAMPLE. O'er shields, and helms, and helm-ed heads he rode, According to the metrical accent, the last word must be pronounced "prostrate"." But according to the authorized pronunciation it is "pros trate." Which shall yield, the poet, or established usage? Certainly not the latter. Some writers advise a compromise of the matter, and that the word should be pronounced without accenting either syllable. Sometimes this may be done, but where it is not practicable, the prosaic reading should be preserved. In the following examples, the words and syllables which are improperly accented or emphasized in the poetry, are marked in italics. According to the principle stated above, the reader should avoid giving them that pronunciation which the correct reading of the poetry would require, but should read them as prose, except where he can throw off all accent, and thus compromise the conflict between the poetic reading and the correct reading. That is, he must read the poetry wrong, in order to read the language right. EXAMPLES. 1. Ask of thy mother earth why oaks are made 5. Of all the causes which combine to blind 6 Eye nature's walks, shoot folly as it flies, 8. We may, with more successful hope, resolve Who now triumphs, and in excess of joy 9. Which, when Beelzebub perceived, (than whom, 10. Thee, Sion, and the flowery brooks beneath, Those other two, equaled with me in fate. NOTE. The principle which has been stated and exemplified in the preceding examples, admits of a few exceptions; but as they can not be classified in such a way as to furnish a safe guide to any but practiced readers, the rule has been laid down as one without exception. Those who are desirous of pursuing the examination of the subject further, and to see the exceptions reduced to the form of rules, may consult Walker's Rhetorical Grammar, pp. 164—5—6—7. OF POETIC PAUSES In order to make the measure of poetry perceptible to the ear, there should generally be a slight pause at the end of each line, even where the sense does not require it. There is, also, in almost every line of poetry, a pause at or near its middle, which is called the Cesura. This should, however, never be so placed as to injure the sense of the passage. It is indeed reckoned a great beauty, where it naturally coincides with the pause required by the The cesura, though generally placed near the middle, may be placed at other intervals. sense. There are sometimes also two additional pauses in each line, called demi-cesuras. The cesura is marked (II), and the demi-cesura thus (1), in the examples given. There is also to be observed a marked accent upon the long syllable next preceding the cesura, and a slighter one upon that next before each of the demi-cesuras. These pauses and accents constitute chiefly the melody of poetry. When made too prominent, however, they lead to a sing-song style, which should be carefully avoided. In the following examples the cesura is marked in each line, the demi-cesura in a few cases only. EXAMPLES. 1. Nature | to all things || fixed | the limits fit, 2. So when an angel || by divine command, 3. Then from his closing eyes || thy form shall part, And the last pang || shall tear thee from his heart. 4. Know then thyself; || presume not God to scan; The proper study || of mankind is man. 5. There is a land || of every land the pride, Beloved by Heaven || o'er all the world beside, 6. In slumbers of midnight || the sailor | boy lay, 7. You may as well || go stand upon the beach, And bid the main-flood || bate his usual hight; As seek to soften that, (than which, what's harder?) 8. She said and struck; || deep entered | in her side Clogged in the wound, || the cruel | weapon stands, And with loud cries || the sounding palace shook. SIMILE. A Simile, in poetry, should be read in a lower tone of voice, than other parts of the passage. EXAMPLES. (The Similes are put in Italics.) 1. Part curb their fiery steeds, or shun the goal 2. Others with vast Typhon rage more fell, Rend up both rocks and hills, and ride the air -felt the envenomed robe, and tore Into the Euboic sea. -Each at the head, Leveled his deadly aim; their fatal hands No second stroke intend; and such a frown 3. Then pleased and thankful, from the porch they go, Then walks with faintness on, and looks with fear,— |