2. Dispersed around | the plain, | by fits | they fight,
And here and there, their scattered arrows light;
But death and darkness o'er the carcass spread,
There burned the war, and there the mighty bled.

4. All kinds of poetry, whether in rhyme or blank-verse, as lyrics, odes, psalms, hymns, songs, ballads, sonnets, or whatever called, are written in some one of the foregoing forms, or in the combination of two or more of them; and no pupil can fail to designate the name of each foot, when he has once learned the number and quantity of the syllables of which it is composed.

SECTION III.

POETIC OR HARMONIC PAUSES.

HARMONIC pauses are employed in the reading of poetry, to produce a smooth and harmonious utterance. They are commonly divided into the Casural, Demi-cæsural, and Final, and occur both in rhyme and blank-verse.

These pauses are peculiar to poetry, and are employed in addition to those used in prose. Their length, like the grammatical and rhetorical, must be decided by the taste of the reader.

1. Casural Pause.

The Casural pause, marked thus (||), divides a poetic line into equal or unequal parts. Its object is to denote such pauses as the melody requires, inde

QUESTIONS. Must all kinds of poetry be written in some one of the preceding forms, or a combination of them? For what are harmonic pauses employed? How are they divided? Are the pauses used in prose also used in poetry? What pauses are peculiar to poetry? What is their length? For what is the cæsuras pause used, or what is its object?

pendently of the metrical feet and the grammatical relation of words.

The casural pause commonly occurs near the middle of the line; generally after the fourth, fifth, or sixth syllable, and but rarely after the second or eighth.

1. When this pause falls after the fourth syllable, the briskest melody is thereby formed, and the most spirited air is given to the line or verse.

EXAMPLE.

On her white breast || a sparkling cross she wore,
Which Jews might kiss || and infidels adore.

2. When the pause occurs after the fifth syllable, dividing the line into equal portions, the melody is sensibly altered; and the verse loses that brisk and sprightly air, which it had in the former case, and becomes more smooth, gentle, and flowing.

EXAMPLE.

Eternal sunshine || of the spotless mind,

Each prayer accepted || and each wish resigned.

3. When the pause follows the sixth syllable, the verse becomes more solemn and grave. It moves with a more slow and measured pace than in either of the former cases.

EXAMPLE.

The wrath of Peleus'* sons, || the direful spring
Of all the Grecian woes, || O goddess, sing!

4. The grave, solemn cadence becomes still more sensible, when the pause occurs after the seventh syllable, which is as near the end of the line as it ordinarily falls.

Where should it QUESTIONS. Where does the cæsural pause commonly occur? occur to produce the briskest melody? What is the effect when this pause occurs after the fifth syllable? When it occurs after the sixth syllable? When it occurs after the seventh?

Pe'-le-us is said to have been king of Acquina, a Grecian island in the Sar dinian Gulf.

EXAMPLES.

1. And in the smooth description || murmur still.
2. Long-loved, adored ideas, || all adieu.

2.

2. Demi-Casural Pause.

The Demi-Casural pause must be slight, in order to avoid any thing like a sing-song tone in reading. It is marked thus ( ¦ ).

EXAMPLE.

|

Warms in the sun, || refreshes | in the breeze,
Glows in the stars, || and blossoms | in the trees;
Lives through all life, || extends | through all extent,
Spreads undivided, || operates | unspent.

3. Final Pause.

The Final pause occurs at the end of a line, both in rhyme and blank-verse, and thus enables the hearer more readily to distinguish the latter from prose. It is marked thus (..).

EXAMPLES.

1. When Science from Creation's face..
Enchantment's veil withdraws,

What lovely visions yield their place..
To cold, material laws!

Whence Adam soon repealed..
The doubts that in his heart arose; and now..
Led on, yet sinless, with desire to know..
What nearer might concern him, how this world..
Of heaven and earth, conspicuous, first began.

QUESTIONS. What is said of the demi-cæsural pause? Where does the fine pause occur? What is its use? How is it marked?

RULE. Harmonic pauses increase the beauty of verse, and should be regarded when they do not injure the sense.

In the following verse, harmony requires the cæsural pause after the word sad, but the sense requires a pause after sit, where it must be made, even at the sacrifice of harmony.

EXAMPLE.

Incorrect marking.

I sit, with sad || civility I read.

Correct marking.

I sit, || with sad civility I read.

MISCELLANEOUS EXAMPLES.

1. In adamantine chains || shall death be bound,
And hell's grim tyrant || feel the eternal wound.
2. Then from his closing eyes, || thy form shall part.
And the last pang || shall tear thee from his heart.
3. For what offense || the queen of heaven began..
To persecute so brave, || so just a man.

4. When, mad with tempests, || all the billows rise..
In all their rage, || and dash against the skies.

5. Soft as the slumbers || of a saint | forgiven,
And mild as opening beams || of promised heaven.

6. She said and struck; || deep entered | in her side..
The piercing steel, || with wreaking purple | dyed;
Clogged in the wound, || the cruel weapon | stands;
The spouting blood || came streaming | o'er her hands.
Her sad attendants || saw the deadly stroke,
And with loud cries | the sounding palace | shook.

QUESTION. What is the rule for harmonic pauses?

7. There is a land || of every land the pride,
Beloved by Heaven || o'er all the world beside:
Where brighter scenes || dispense serener light,
And milder moons || imparadise the night;
O thou shalt find, || howe'er thy footsteps roam,
That land, thy country, and that spot, | thy home.
8. So, in the field || with Ceres'* beauty spread,
Uprears some ancient oak || his reverend head;
Chaplets and sacred gifts || his boughs adorn,
And spoils of war || by mighty heroes won.

9. High on his helm || celestial lightnings play;
His beamy shield || emits a living ray;

Th' unwearied blaze || incessant streams supplies,
Like the red star-fires || th' autumnal skies.

10. The dumb shall sing, || the lame | his crutch forego,
And leap | exulting || like the bounding roe.
11. So when an angel || by divine command,

With rising tempests || shakes a guilty land.

12. The sea is waveless || as a lake ingulfed ..

'Mid sheltering hills, || without a ripple spreads..
Its bosom, silent and immense, || the hues..
Of flickering day || have from its surface died,
Leaving it garbed || in sunless majesty.

SECTION IV.

METRICAL

ACCENT.

METRICAL ACCENT is a stress laid upon certain syllables in verse, recurring at regular intervals, and

QUESTION. What is metrical accent?

Ce'-res, in mythology, the goddess of corn, or the name of corn, deified.