former, the best in English are Spenser's "Shepheardes Calendar” and Gay's "Shepherd's Week"; of the latter, the pastorals of Pope and the seventeenth century imitators of Spenser.1

4. Dramatic Lyrics and Dramatic Narratives. - These forms, as the names suggest, are narratives and lyrics which the writer puts upon the lips of some character conceived by him. The dramatic narrative is told from a particular and distinctive point of view, that is, as interpreted by some personage whose relation to the narrative notably modifies the telling of it. The dramatic lyric in like manner expresses a personal emotion, personal, that is, not to the writer but to a character created by the writer. Hence in both we find a double interest, not only that which attaches to the lyric and the narrative proper, but the interest that it is the gift of the creative imagination to awaken, the interest that proceeds from the interpretation of character.

"Abt

The chief exponent of these forms is Robert Browning. Vogler," "Andrea del Sarto," "Master Hughes of Saxe-Gotha," "Saul," and "Rabbi ben Ezra," are among the most notable instances of the dramatic lyric. "The Ring and the Book" stands for the typical dramatic narrative, being a series of different versions of the same narrative told by the persons involved in it.

How far these minor forms may be called poetry, in the strict sense of the word, may be often difficult to decide. Satire, if it rises beyond the criticism of mere local or ephemeral trifles, into the large and more universal aspects of life, may be ranked as true poetry, inasmuch as scorn of vice is virtually equivalent to admiration of what is

1 The terms "Eclogue" and "Bucolic" are sometimes used vaguely as synonymous with the pastoral. Some would confine the term "Eclogue" to pastorals including dialogue; "Bucolics" to those describing the distinctive operations of country life, as Vergil's Georgics. In later times " Idyll " has come to be used as an unpretentious designation for almost any short poem of a picturesque character, as "The Idylls of the King."

noble. Of the dramatic pieces of Robert Browning the same may be said in certain cases. Such poems as "In the Laboratory" and "The Spanish Cloister" are obviously meant to hold up to scorn certain sordid and vicious passions, and, though not satirical, have the same relation to poetry that satire has. On the other hand," Bishop Bloughram's Apology" and "The Bishop Orders his Tomb in St. Praxed's Church" appear to be nothing more nor less than "studies," attempts to realize intimately certain extraordinary mental attitudes. One can readily understand that verse with its compression and its power of suggestion would be preferred as a vehicle for such "studies" but interesting as they may be in subtle penetration of hidden motives and their revelation of the mysterious workings of the heart, one can see no more reason for calling them poetry in the highest sense than if they were written in prose. It is the function of poetry not to excite curiosity and not merely to present problems, whether psychological or scientific, but to represent through the imagination adequate grounds for the noble emotions.

PART THREE

VERSIFICATION

THE music of verse, which we are now to consider in detail, is the most valuable of all the resources of expression placed at the command of the poet. But it is also the most subtle and defiant of analysis. It is impossible to point out by rule or precept how it may be produced, or even to explain fully how it has been produced in a given case. All that can be attempted is to indicate the elements which enter into the composition of verse-music, that by so doing the student may be awakened to a keener consciousness of its presence and power in actual poetry.

These elements may be grouped into two classes. The first includes all that pertains to the measurement of verse, its division into equal or equivalent combinations of syllables, called feet, lines, stanzas. This recurrent rhythm of poetry is known as Metre, and will be considered in the first chapter following.

The second class deals with the agreeable succession of vowels and consonants, which in some mysterious way evoke emotions by their sweetness or harshness, and their relation to other vowels and consonants near them. We may designate this as the Melody of verse, and its elementary forms will be the subject of the second chapter.

CHAPTER I

Metre

I. ACCENT

THE difference between verse and prose may be seen by comparing the following lines:

The curfew tolls the knell of parting day.

In the beginning God created heaven and earth.

We observe that in the first line, a certain stress falls on every second syllable, and that consequently we may divide the line into five groups, each consisting of an unstressed, followed by a stressed, syllable:

The cur | few tolls | the knell | of par | ting day.

In the second line there is no such recurrence, - the stresses are placed irregularly, and the syllables do not fall into regular groups. The recurrence of similar versefactors, as seen in the first line, is what we call "metre."

1. Word-accent. — Every word, and every syllable of a word, must, of course, receive some degree of force in utterance; word-accent is that relatively greater force which is put upon one syllable over another, as sorrow, sublime. In words of more than two syllables we find also a secondary accent on syllables separated one or more places from the principal accent, as recolléct, demonstration, cúmulative, authorization. Syllables without either primary or second

ary accent are called unaccented.

Monosyllables may, for convenience, be regarded as single accented syllables.

2. Verse-stress is the ictus placed upon certain syllables recurring at regular intervals in a verse of poetry, and thus determining the rhythm of the verse, as

Absent | thee from | feli | city | awhile.

In this line the verse-stress is precisely identical with the word-accent. If we examine the following lines, we shall find that this is not always the case.

Oh! thy luminous face, thine imperious eyes.

And the light | thereof hurled | and the noise | thereof rolled.

In the first of these two lines, the secondary accent on the last syllable of "luminous" receives no verse-stress, and in the second line the entire word "thereof " is without verse-stress. 3. Rules. The question, therefore, arises how far these two-word-accent and verse-stress

may or must coincide in a verse of poetry. The laws may be briefly formulated as follows: :

(a) The verse-stress never falls on an unaccented syllable; nor on a secondary accent, unless the primary accent of the same word is also stressed.

(b) On the other hand, the verse-stress does not necessarily fall on every accented syllable; that is, accented syllables may be unstressed in the verse.

(c) Monosyllables, since we regard them as accented syllables, may receive verse-stress.

(a) Accented syllables, including monosyllables, are common; that is, stressed or unstressed.

(b) Unaccented syllables are unstressed.