1 64 LITERATURE AND DRAMA 



Where all' must fall' : 6r not' c5he'rent be' : 

 And all' that ri'sgs : rl'se in due' degree'. 



Milton, in our sample lines, employs this form only five times, 

 and Shakespeare only thrice. In one of these three lines, the 

 uniform beat is admirably adapted to indicate the stealthy 

 creeping pace of Eumour : 



And who' but Ru'mour : who' but only I'. 



In a second example it is used with a semi-humorous purpose : 

 They sell' the pas'ture : now' t6 buy' the hor'se. 



The following line by Ambrose Phillips may show how unsuited 

 this form is to express strong emotion : 



Er6 yon' meridian sun' : declines he dl'es. 



Yet this is the form which is sometimes held up as the perfect 

 type, and a line is praised or blamed as it more or less thoroughly 

 imitates this model of monotony. 



The following from Pope is commonplace enough to prove 

 that four beats are met with almost as frequently as five : 



lii dou'bt his mi'nd : 5r bod'y to prefer'. 

 Like Milton, Shakespeare, telling us of speed, uses three beats : 



In mo'tion : of no less' cSler'ity : 

 Than that' of thou'ght. 



Monosyllables receive an accent only when they are to be pro- 

 nounced with emphasis, and to these no rules apply, such as in 

 classical languages make certain syllables long and others short ; 

 but in polysyllabic words one syllable is in English usually so 

 prominent as, in Terse, to demand an accent or beat. Never- 

 theless, words of minor importance, such as c being,' ' under,' or 

 ' above,' although they often receive an accent, are also often 

 spoken rapidly with none. Thus we read the following line 

 with five beats : 



Fold above fold : a sur'ging ma'ze * his head'. 



The beat upon a pause may often be used with excellent effect. 

 Thus in two of the following lines we like to hear the middle 

 pause prolonged as follows : 



