EXAMPLE. A neēd | less Āl | ĕxan | drine ends | the sōng, That like | ǎ wound | ĕd snake | drags its | slow length | ǎlông. 7. The seventh form of iambic verse contains seven iambic feet. EXAMPLE. Thě měl ǎnchōl | ỳ days | ǎre cōme, | the sad | děst of thě year, Ŏf wailing winds | ănd nā | ked woods, | ǎnd mead | Ŏws brown and sere. NOTE. This form is rarely used, and instead thereof, the lines alternately contain four and three feet. EXAMPLE. The mēl | ǎnchōl | ǎ days | ăre cōme, Ŏf wailing winds | ănd nā | ked woods, 2. Trochaic Verse. The Trochee is a poetic foot, consisting of one long and one short syllable; as, hāteful. There are six forms of this verse; the first, consisting of one trochaic foot, and the last, of six. 1. The first and shortest form of trochaic verse has one trochaic loot, with an additional long syllable. EXAMPLE. Dreadful | gleams, Dismal | screams, Lightnings | flash, crash. QUESTIONS. What does the seventh form contain? Is this form much used? Of what does the trochee consist? Which syllable is accented? How many forms has trochaic verse? Of what does the first form consist? 2. The second form of trochaic verse has two trochaic feet. NOTE. To the above form, a long syllable is sometimes added. EXAMPLE. Sōund the | trumpets, | sõund! 3. The third form of trochaic verse has three trochaic feet. EXAMPLE. Come ye weary | strangers, Once more free from dangers. NOTE. To the above form, a long syllable is frequently added 4. The fourth form of trochaic verse contains four trochaic feet, and rarely has the long syllable appended. EXAMPLE. See the ruddy | mōrning | smiling, 5. The fifth form of trochaic verse has five, and the sixth, has sux 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. QUESTIONS. Of what does the second form consist? The third? The fourth? The fifth and sixth? Are there any poetic compositions consisting exclusively of spon dees or pyrrhics? How are they used? 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 verse contains one anapestic foot. 2. The second form of anapestic verse has two anapestic feet. NOTE. Sometimes this form has an additional short syllable. EXAMPLE. Then his courage did fail | him, 3. The third form of anapestic verse has three anapestic feet. 4. The fourth form of anapestic verse has four anapestic feet. QUESTIONS. Of what does an anapest consist? Which syllable is accented! Which are unaccented? How many forms has anapestic verse? Of what dorg the first consist: The second? The third? The fourth? EXAMPLE. Ŏh! this thought | in the midst | of enjōy | ment wil stay, Like ǎ dead | leafless branch | in the sum | mer'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 rōbe was the whirl | wind, his võice | was the thūn | děr, Ånd earth | ǎt his foot | steps, was riv | ĕn ăsūn | děr. 4. Dactylic Verse. The Dactyl is a poetic foot, consisting of one long and two short syllables; as, pōndĕrõus. 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 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 Zion, ǎ | wake from thỹ | sadness; Awake! | for thy fões | shall oppress | thee no mōre; NOTE 2. There are no poems consisting exclusively of amphibrachs, 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 ni mbers of feet, still those feet may consist of iambuses, trochees, or other forms, embodied in the same line. QUESTIONS. How does this form sometimes begin and end? Of what does a dao tyl consist? How do lines sometimes close in dactylic verse? What is note second, What is note third? 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. Some angel guide | my pen | cil while | I draw, 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 blank-verse, and each complete line has five poetic feet. EXAMPLE. But bid | her wēll | bĕwāre, | ănd still | ĕrect, 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 * tōp | his hōr | rors spreads; The clouds burst dread | ful o'er | the Grecian heads; Thick lightnings flash; | the mut | t'ring thun | der rolls; Their strength | he with | ers, and | unmans | their souls. QUESTIONS. Of what does blank-verse consist? To what subjects is it peculiarly suited? How may epic poetry be written? What poems are specimens of epic poetry? I'da, a mountain in Asia Minor, at the base of which was ancient Troy. |