ON RHYTHM IN ENGLISH VERSE 167 



That in English two short syllables often count as one need 

 in no way surprise us, for scansion was originally based on a 

 measurement of time, and in English two, or even three, short 

 syllables are often so swiftly spoken as to occupy no more time 

 than a single unaccented syllable in other parts of the same line. 

 Elision is not wanted to make Milton's lines scan the two 

 syllables may count as one element in a foot, although both 

 vowel sounds are perfectly heard ; they really produce a diph- 

 thong. The English letter I, which counts as one syllable, is 

 composed of two successive sounds quite as distinct as the final 

 e and the initial A in the following : 



The way' * he wen't : and on 7 the Assyr'ian moun't. 



Thassyrian is not English and is completely hostile to the music 

 of the line. We believe that Milton used this extra syllable 

 systematically to avoid the rhythmical sections tumti-tumti and 

 titum-titum, which his ear loathed. With the elision the rhyth- 

 mical scheme of the above line becomes very poor. The extra 

 syllables just save it : 



, | . ! . | . i | i i | 



This may be observed again and again. Thus in the much finer 



line 



Hur'led heading fla'ming : from the ethe'rial sky', 



the third section with the elisions would again be tumti-tumti, 

 instead of a fine rhythmical phrase contrasting by its vigorous 

 rapidity with the strong solemn sections preceding it. These 

 long sections in Milton often have a beauty like that of a 

 trumpet call, as : 



That' mvm'cible Sam /x sCn : far' renow'ned. 



It is on the character and grouping of the sections that the 

 rhythmical beauty of a line chiefly depends. The most com- 

 monplace sections are built of two iambs or two trochees ; the 

 most common place lines are those in which the end of each 

 section corresponds with the end of a foot. An example of this 

 bad subdivision is to be found in Ambrose Phillips's verse already 

 quoted. 



The four sections are usually grouped in pairs separated by 



