ON RHYTHM IN ENGLISH VERSE 



163 



accent. Five is the number most frequently employed, but four 

 beats per line are also common. For the purpose of analysis 

 in this and other respects we have taken a hundred lines by 

 Shakespeare, the same number by Milton, and the same number 

 by Pope. On counting the number of beats when these lines 

 were spoken with due emphasis we obtained the following 

 results : 



Shakespeare 45 

 Shakespeare 43 

 Shakespeare 7 

 Shakespeare 4 



Lines of 5 beats 

 Lines of 4 beats 

 Lines of 6 beats 

 Lines of 3 beats 

 Lines of 7 beats 



Pope 54 

 Pope 38 

 Pope 8 

 Pope 

 PopeO 



Milton 53 

 Milton 34 

 Milton 8 

 Milton 3 

 Milton 2 



Shakespeare 1 



There is nothing absolute in these numbers. Other readers 

 would obtain other results. Even the same reader will not on 

 different days obtain identical results ; but all readers who make 

 the experiment will obtain a somewhat similar series of figures. 

 The deduction to be drawn is that the number of beats in a line 

 is not employed to enhance the sense of unity, but is freely 

 varied. The number will be good when it suits the intention of 

 the author, contributing to the sense of aptness which, to quote 

 Milton, gives ( musical delight.' Thus the seven beats required 

 for the delivery of the following line add much to its solemnity : 



As one' grea't fur'nace na/med : yet' frdm tho'se fla/mes. 



How different is the sense of joyous motion produced by a line 

 with three beats instead of seven : 



Th6 multitude 8f Aii'gfils : with a shou't. 



In these examples, as in all which follow, an accent denotes a 

 beat, a single dot a slight pause, and a colon a longer pause. 

 The scanning is shown in the ordinary way ; but many syllables 

 are counted as long in the scansion which are weak in the 

 sectional rhythm as, for instance, in the case of the word 

 ' with ' above. 



If five successive beats come on the five long syllables of five 

 successive iambs, we have a smooth but rather commonplace 

 verse. Thirty-two of the hundred lines from Pope have this 

 peculiarity, as : 



M 2 



