482 Transactions. 



It is wished to sh,ow that all these feet may be traced to one funda- 

 mental duple unit, with its natural triple and quadruple expansions, such 

 expansion being an innate cjuality. 



4. The pyrrhic and spondee are admitted by prosodists to be feet of 

 only occasional occurrence in British poetry : they are " variations," and 

 not " fundamentals," and never of themselves form a metrical scheme, 

 occurring only as isolated feet, due to the dropping or insertion of a stress. 



5. The iamb and trochee, however, are fundamental feet — that is, in 

 aggregation either one may form a metrical scheme ; but whereas the 

 resulting measures were at one time considered quite distinct, there are 

 now few prosodists who maintain that there is any real difference between 

 them : the lilt of the measures is due rather to the syjitactic than to the 

 rhythmic construction. Their indiscriminate mingling in much of the best 

 poetry is in itself sufficient to suggest their identity ; and this identity may 

 be made apparent by a few examples. The following pairs are from Milton's 

 " L'AllegTO." They are not consecutive lines in the poem, but are choseii 

 on account of their internal construction being similar : — 



(1.) a. Haste thee, Nymph, and bring with thee (1. 25.) 



b. So buxom, blithe, and debonair. (1. 24.) 



(2.) a. Some time walking, not unseen, (1. 57.) 



b. With store of ladies, whose bright eyes (1. 121.) 



(3.) a. Shallow brooks, and rivers wide; (1. 76.) 



b. By hedge-row elms, on hillocks green, (1. 58.) 



The only difference between the two lines of each pair is that the first begins 

 with a stressed, the second with an unstressed, syllable ; the internal pauses 

 fall in the same manner, and drop the unstressed syllable opening h of each 

 pair, and the lines of each pair are rhythmically identical. In the following 

 examples the lines of each pair are consecutive : — 



(4.) Mountains, on whose barren breast (1. 73.) 



The laboiu'ing clouds do often rest ; 

 (5.) Where perhaps some Beauty lies, (1. 79.) 



The C5Taosure of neighbouiing eyes. 



(6.) Sometimes with secure delight (1. 91.) 



The upland hamlets will invite, 



(7.) There let Hymen oft appear. (1. 125.) 



In saffron robe, with taper clear. 



In these four examples a trochaic line, or line stressed on the first syllable, 

 is followed, loith no hreah in the metre, by an iambic line, or line stressed 

 on the second syllable ; and the arbitrariness of this nomenclature is most 

 apparent when it is pointed out that each of the couplets is no more than 

 one long verse bisected. Quotations (6) and (7) should stand, — 



(6a.) Sometimes with secure delight the upland hamlets will invite, • 



(7a.) There let Hymen oft appear, in saftVon robe, with taper clear. 



The absurdity of giving the two halves of one verse different names, and 

 holding that they are in different measures, is surely evident. They are 

 in the same measure from start to finish ; and the only question is, which 

 measure is it to be, trochaic or iambtc ? 



6. Take other examples, where the order of the last four is reversed — 

 that is, where a trochaic line follows an iambic : — 



(8.) And young and old come forth to play (1. 97.) 



On a smi-shine holy day, 

 (9.) Oft listening how the hounds and horn (I. 53.) 



Cheerly rouse the slumbering morn. 



