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And in many other places exactly after the caft of the ancient plays. There are some poetic liberties that our author takes, fuch as lengthening words in scanfion, as witeness, fideler, āngěry, Heněry, sarjeant, captain, ftatue, desire, villain, fire, bõūr, grăce, great, &c.

VOSSIUS spoke very ignorantly of our language when he afferted that our verses run all, as it were, in one measure, without distinction of

1 Our editors not knowing this have turned some pasfages into profe: viz. Midfummer Night's dream, A&t IV.

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Queen. I have a venturous Fairy that shall seek

The squirrels board, and fetch thee new nuts."

Other paffages they have altered. viz. Macbeth, A& I.

"Mal. This is the serjeant

"Who like a good and hardy foldier fought."

Thus arbitrarily changed,

"This is the ferjeant, who

"Like a good right and hardy foldier fought.”

And presently after,

"Dismay'd not this

“Ŏur captăïns, Macbeth and Banquo. Capt. Yes "As fparrows eagles."

Altered into,

"Our captains, brave Macbeth and Banquo. Capt. Yes."

There

of members or parts, or any regard to the natural quantities of fyllables. For are not thefe fubftantives as much trochees, conduct, cónfort, cónteft, &c. and the verbs from these substantives, as much iambics, conduct, confort, contést, &c. as any Latin or Greek words whatever? Again, sinful, faithful, náture, vénture, &c. have all the first fyllable long. However our position in the main determines the quantity, and a great deal is left to the ear.

There is no need at present to mention more of these alterations. Let us now turn to fome other poets. Spencer. B. 2. c. 9. ft. 15.

"And evirmore their cruel captăîne."

And B. 6. c. 10. ft. 36.

"And hewing off its head, it presented."

Fairfax. B. VI. ft. 103.

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Spred frostie peǎrle on the canded ground.”

And B. XV. ft. 12.

"Some fpred their failes, fome with ftrong oårs sweep.”

The Latin writers are not without inftances of adding to the fyllables of words in fcanfion. Lucretius, Lib. VI.

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Qua calidum faciunt ăquãē tactum atque faporem."

Horatius, Lib. 1. od. 23.

Here

"Aurarum et silŭãē metu.”

aquæ and Sylva of two fyllables, are both to be read as if of three fyllables.

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But

But let us take any verfe in Milton or Shake fpeare, for example.

Sǎy first for heav'n hides nothing frōm thỹ view.

I

2

3

4

5

And transpose the words,

Say firft for heav'n nothing from thy view hides.

I

2

3

4

5

who cannot ' feel the difference, even fuppofing he could not give a reason for it?

THE greatest beauty in diction is, when it correfponds to the fenfe. This beauty our language, with all its disadvantages, can attain; as I could eafily inftance from Shakespeare and Milton. We have harsh, rough confonants, as well as the foft and melting, and these should found in the fame musical key. This rule is most religiously observed by Virgil; as is likewife that of varying the pause and cefura, or as

1 Quotufquifque eft, qui teneat artem numerorum ac modorum? At fi in his paulum modo offenfum eft, ut aut contractione brevius fieret, aut productione longius, theatra tota reclamant. Cicero in Orat. "Hồn d' ï[wse xj év Tois woλυανθρωπολάταις θεάτροις, ἃ συμπληροῖ πανοδαπὸς καὶ ἄμεσος ὄχλος, ἔδοξα καλαμαθεῖν ὡς φυσική τις ἐςὶν ἁπανίων ἡμῶν οἰκειός της πρὸς εὐμέλειαν τε καὶ εὐρυθμίαν. Dionyf. Hal. p. 72. Edit. Lond.

Milton expreffes it, the fenfe being variously drawn out from one verse into another. For it is variety and uniformity that makes beauty; and, for want of this, our riming poets foon tire the ear: for rime neceffarily hinders the fense from being variously drawn out from one verse to another. They who avoid this Gothic bondage, are unpardonable, if they don't study this variety, when Shakespeare and Milton have so finely led them the way.

But to treat this matter, concerning his metre, somewhat more exactly: 'tis obferved that when the iambic verse has it's just number of fyllables, 'tis called acatalectic; when deficient in a syllable catalectic; when a foot is, wanting to compleat the dipod, according to the Greek scanfion, brachycatalectic; when exceeding in a syllable, bypercatalectic.

The iambic monometer acatalectic, of two feet.

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Iambic monometer hypercatalectic, of two feet and a femiped.

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So pry | thee gō | with me Macb
if sight | ănd fhāpe | bě true

why then my love lădieu. As you like it.

The

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