■506 ' T ransactions. 



the eft'ect is not altogetker displeasing ; not more than two choriambs 

 €an come together in the five-stressed verse, so that the triple effect cannot 

 be so obtrusively accumulated as in Thackeray's "' Mahogany Tree." 



23. The construction is sUghtly varied when the triple unit does not 

 immediately follow the paused unit : — 



(64.) a. Soon had his crew 



<) ' peitd '^m/to the Ji'ill/ a spa/eious wound/, 

 Aiid digg'd out ribs of gold. (P.L., i, 689.) 



h. Let us not then pursue 



By force im))ossible, bj' leave obtain'd 

 Un/acc('p/ table, though/ in Hea\ 'n/, our state/ 

 Of splendid vassalage ; (P.L., ii, 251.) 



c. Which would be all his solace and revenge, 



As/ a despite/ done/ against/ the M'ost Highjj, 



Thee once to gain companion of his woe. (P-L., vi, 906.) 



In example c the paused and triple units are most unmistakable, owing 

 to the former coming within the verse ; both exist as certainly in a and h. 

 The content of a is cjuoted : — 



(64o.) Rifled the bowels of their mother earth 



For treasures better hid. Soon had his crew 

 O/pend "in/to the Jidl/ a spa/cious woimd/, 



(P.L., i. I. i^ii, &c.) 



The pause before " open'd " would have disappeared had the preceding 

 verse been given a feminine ending, as, — 



(65.) but who here 



Will envy whom the highest place exposes 

 Foremost to stand against the Thunderer's aim, 



(P.L.. ii. 1. -IQ, &c.) 



In the examples cjuoted in (64) one unit separates the paused and triple 

 units. In the following, from Shelley's " Epipsychidion," they are separated 

 by two units — 



(6(5.) until thought's melody 



Become too sweet for utterance, and it die 

 In words, to live again in looks, which dart 

 With thrilling tones into the voiceless heart, 

 Har/moni/sing s'i/lence without/a, sound/ (Ep-> 564.) 



• — and were ■' despite " accented on the first syllable, as it is not inconceivable 

 Milton intended it to be accented in example (64) c, the paused and triple 

 units would be separated by three units — 



(67.) As/ a des/pite done/ against/ the Most High/. 



The accent would not be "wrenched" were "an insult" substituted for 

 '■ a despite," and the rhythm is neither awkward nor unnatural. Again, 

 were "' Highest " substituted for '' Most High " in (67), a verse trochaic in 

 effect throughout would result : — 



(fiTia.) As a despite done against the Highest. 



That such a verse is not repugnant to a poet's ear is certain ; for in 



" Hyperion " Keats introduces one exactly similar, and in " Macbeth 



Shakspeare introduces one almost similar : — 



(68.) a. and there shall be 



Beautiful things made new, for the sur])rise 

 Of the skv-eliildren ; I will give command : 

 Thea ! Thea ! Thea ! where is Saturn ? 



(Hyp., Booki, 1. 131.) 



b. As justice, verity, temperance, .stableness. 



Bounty, perseverance, mercy, loivliness. (Macb., IV, iii, 9.3.) 



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