Βραδείαν ἡμᾶς ἄρ ̓ ὁ τήνδε τὴν ὁδὸν οἴμοι ἶθ ̓ ἐκκάλυψον, ὡς ἴδω τὸ πᾶν κακόν. In Hamlet, A& I. "Gh. So art thou to revenge, when thou fhalt "hear. "Ham. What? "Gh. I am thy father's fpirit." And presently after, "Gh. If thou didst ever thy dear father love"Ham. Oh heav'n! "Gh. Revenge his foul and most unnatural "murther! "Ham. Murther! "Gh. Murther moft foul, as in the best it is." In Othello, A&t III. "Oth. Oh, yes, and went between us very oft. Iago. Indeed! 66 "Oth. Indeed! ay, indeed. Difcern'ft thou "ought in that ?" Bb 2 And I 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 witěness, fiděler, angěrỹ, Heněrỹ, sārjēānt, căptăîn, statue, desire, villăin, fire, bŏūr, 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 diftinction of 1 Our editors not knowing this have turned some paffages into profe: viz. Midsummer Night's dream, A& IV. 66 Queen. I have a venturous Fairy that shall seek The fquirrels board, and fetch thee new nuts.” Other paffages they have altered. viz. Macbeth, A&t 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, Difmay'd not this "our captains, Macbeth and Banquo. Capt. Yes "As fparrows eagles." Altered into, "Our captains, brave Macbeth and Banque. Capt. Yes." There of members or parts, or any regard to the nasural quantities of fyllables. For are not these fubftantives as much trochees, conduct, confort, cónteft, &c. and the verbs from these substantives, as much iambics, conduct, confort, contéft, &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 captăine." And B. 6. c. 10. ft. 36. "And hewing off its head, it presented." Fairfax. B. VI. ft. 103. 66 Spred froftie peǎrle on the canded ground." And B. XV. ft. 12. "Some fpred their failes, fome with ftrong oars fweep." The Latin writers are not without inftances of adding to the fyllables of words in fcanfion. Lucretius, Lib. VI. "Quæ calidum faciunt ăquãē tactum atque faporem." Horatius, Lib. 1. od. 23. "Aurarum et silŭae metu." Here aqua and fylva of two fyllables, are both to be read as if of three fyllables. But let us take any verse in Milton or Shakefpeare, for example. Say firft för heav'n hides nothing from thỹ view. I 2 3 4 5 And transpose the words, Say first for heav'n nothing from thy view hides. I who cannot feel the difference, even fuppofing he could not give a reason for it? THE greatest beauty in diction is, when it corresponds to the fenfe. This beauty our language, with all its difadvantages, can attain; as I could easily 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. "H♪n d'éswse xj év toîs toλυανθρωπολάτοις θεάτροις, ἃ συμπληροῖ πανοδαπὸς καὶ ἄμεσος όχλος, ἔδοξα καλαμαθεῖν ὡς φυσική τις ἐςὶν ἁπάντων ἡμῶν οἰκειό τις πρὸς εὐμέλειάν τε καὶ εὐρυθμίαν. Dionyf. Hal. p. 72. Edit. Lond. Milton expreffes it, the fenfe being variously drawn out from one verfe 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 fenfe from being varioufly drawn out from one verfe to another. They who avoid this Gothic bondage, are unpardonable, if they don't study this variety, when Shakespeare and Milton have fo 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. |