The Principles of English Versification Part 6

In their noon-day dreams.

.18 .2 .22 .2 .7 (.6)

From my wings are shak-en the dews that wak - en .25 .35 .44 .22 .3 .2 .1 .6 .2 .25 .25

The sweet buds ev - ery one, .1 .35 .53 (.15) .2 .21 .5 (.55)

When rocked to rest on their moth - er's breast, .18 .47 .2 .4 (.2) .18 .2 .22 .18 .47 (.4)

As she danc - es a - bout the sun.

.2 .2 .45 .2 .1 .25 .2 .5 (.85)

I wield the flail of the lash - ing hail, .22 .22 .1 .5 .15 .15 .25 .15 .45 (.3)

And whit - en the green plains un - der, .2 .22 .18 .1 .32 .5 .2 .2 (.5)

And then a - gain I dis - solve in rain, .22 .38 .1 .55 .15 .2 .7 .15 .55 (.07)

And laugh as I pa.s.s in thun - der.

.2 .4 (.2) .15 .18 .39 .18 .22 .25

Two facts emerge from these statistics at once: (1) that in about 90 per cent of the feet the ? or unstressed element is shorter than the _? or stressed element, or, in other words, stress and syllabic length nearly always coincide; and (2) that while there is very great variation in the absolute lengths of short syllables and long syllables, the proportion of average lengths is about 2:4.[28] One need not suppose that the conscious mind always hears or thinks it hears the syllables p.r.o.nounced with these quant.i.tative proportions. Though we deceive ourselves very readily in the matter of time, it is not true that we have no sense of duration whatever. Quite the contrary. Our cerebral metronome is set when we read verse for about .6 seconds for a foot (.2 seconds for the unstressed element;.4 seconds for the stressed element). If we read faster or more slowly the proportions remain the same. When, however, in Paradise Lost, II, 607,

? _? ? _?

with one small drop .24 .37 .53 .47

the normal proportions are so patently departed from that the theoretically unstressed syllable _small_ is actually longer than the theoretically stressed syllable _drop_, and the foot _small drop_ takes 1. second, or 2/5 longer than the average foot beside it (_with one_, .61 seconds)--when divergences so great as this are both possible and pleasurable, the conclusion should be, not that the ear makes no recognition of the time, but that it is capable, by syncopation and subst.i.tution, of adjusting itself to a very great possibility of variation without losing hold of the rhythmic pattern. Looked at from one point of view, the extreme variations would appear to be irregularities and warrant the judgment that no element of duration exists as a principle of English verse; but from the right point of view these variations mean only that the metrical time unit is extraordinarily elastic while still remaining a unit; that the ear is willing and able to pay very high for the _variety_ in uniformity which it requires.

+--------------------------------------------------------------+ [28] This statement is based on Miss Snell's computations from a.n.a.lysis of several records for blank verse and several kinds of lyric verse. The short syllables range in blank verse from .02 to .54, in lyrics from .09 to .7; the long syllables range in blank verse from .08 to .84, in lyrics from .11 to .92. The average length of all long syllables is .4, of all short syllables is .21. +--------------------------------------------------------------+

_Pause._ The time element of English verse is affected also by different kinds of pauses. Three kinds may be distinguished, two of which belong properly to prose rhythm as well. (1) The _logical_ pause is that cessation of sound which separates the logical components of speech. It helps hold together the members of a unit and separates the units from each other, and never occurs unless a break in the meaning is possible.

It is usually indicated in printed language by punctuation. (2) The _rhythmical_ pause separates the breath groups of a sentence and therefore concerns language chiefly as a series of sounds independent for the most part of logical content or symbolism. Though its origin is primarily physiological, it soon induces a psychological state and results in an overuse or overdevelopment of the cerebral metronome. Both readers and writers get into a certain 'swing' which turns to monotony and sing-song in reading and to excessive uniformity of sentence length and structure in writing--what is called a jog-trot style. This pause as it affects the reading of verse is only slightly dependent upon the logical content of words, for it takes its pace, especially in rimed verse, from the normal line length, and tends to make every line sound like every other, regardless of the meaning. (3) _Metrical_ pause is primarily independent of the other two, but most frequently falls in with them. It belongs to the formal metrical pattern, and serves usually to mark off the line units. There is thus theoretically a pause at the end of every line, and a greater pause at the end of every stanza. When verses are 'run on,' i. e., when there is no logical pause at the end, many readers omit the metrical pause or reduce it to a minimum. Others, whose rhythmic sense is very keen, preserve it, making it very slight but still perceptible. The metrical pause is greatly emphasized by rime.

There are two other time elements in English verse, related in different ways to each of these three pauses, one which is nearly equivalent to the musical _rest_; the other which is nearly equivalent to the musical _hold_. The latter is common to both verse and prose, and is emotional or elocutionary in origin; "If....," "Well----?" "'_These_ roses?' she drawled." In verse it often coincides with and supports a metrical pause, especially on rime words. Many readers in fact combine the hold and the metrical pause or use them interchangeably. The former, the _rest_, is a pause used to take the place of an unstressed element. As such, however, it does not altogether compensate the break in the normal time-s.p.a.ce, but fills in the omission sufficiently to preserve the rhythm of the verse.

These various pauses are all well ill.u.s.trated in Tennyson's lyric, Break, Break, Break.

Break, break, break, .5 (.6) .5 (.28) .6 (.3)

On thy cold grey stones, O sea!

.35 .3 .6 .5 .7 (.15) .3 .55 (.65)

And I would that my tongue could ut - ter .2 .2 .4 .2 .25 .4 .18 .18 .3 (.35)

The thoughts that a - rise in me.

.2 .5 .3 .2 .4 .3 .5 (.8)

O, well for the fish - er - man's boy .6 .6 .2 .2 .22 .15 .45 .6 (.55)

That he shouts with his sis - ter at play!

.2 .18 .55 .25 .2 .35 .18 .2 .6 (.9)

O, well for the sail - or lad .5 (.3) .61 .25 .3 .55 .2 .5 (.45)

That he sings in his boat on the bay.

.18 .18 .55 .25 .2 .45 .15 .15 .6

Logical pauses occur at the end of ll. 2, 4, 6, 8; and probably after _stones_ in l. 2. After _stones_ there would be also a rhythmic pause, but it is reinforced and practically replaced by the logical pause.

Another rhythmic pause might occur after _tongue_ in l. 3, but it is absorbed partly by the length of _tongue_ and partly by the necessity of preserving the line rhythm through _utter_. It will be felt, however, if the lines are read thus:

And I would that my tongue Could utter the thoughts That arise In me.

The metrical pause appears clearly after _utter_ in l. 3. The pauses after _boy_ (l. 5) and _lad_ (l. 7) are both metrical and logical. The hold is ill.u.s.trated by _O_ in l. 5 and l. 7. [29] The rest appears distinctly in l. 1. From reading the whole poem we know that the movement is anapestic. The pattern rhythm for the first line would be

??_? ??_? ??_?

Break break break

The number of syllables is three, whereas the other lines have from seven to nine syllables each. That is, before each _break_ two light syllables, or their time equivalent, are lacking, their place being supplied by the rest-pause (which is also logical and emotional).[30]

+--------------------------------------------------------------+ [29] In the latter case it is supplemented by a pause in Miss Snell's marking. Many readers would no doubt combine the hold and pause; as was done in fact in l. 5. [30] It should be noted that the average line length here (including pauses within the line, excluding those at the end of the line) is 2.8, and the first line is therefore only .32 shorter than the average. If additional allowance (omitted in Miss Snell's computation) be made for the theoretical initial ?? the average would be 2.85 and l. 1 would total 2.92. If the end pause is included the average would be 3.38 and l. 1 2.78--a difference of .66; or with the additional allowance the average would be 3.44 and l. 1 3.22. While too much faith is not to be placed in the mere figures, the inference is plain that the rests practically compensate here for the omitted ??. +--------------------------------------------------------------+

The reader may a.n.a.lyze the comparative lengths of foot, line, pause, and rest in the following record:[31]

Kent-ish Sir Bing stood for the king, .4 .32 .46 .8 (.2) .5 .18 .16 .8 (.6)

Bid-ding the crop-head-ed par-lia-ment swing; .26 .2 .12 .45 .3 .2 .4 .1 .35 .72 (.6)

And, press-ing a troop un - ab - le to stoop, .2 .38 .12 .1 .55 (.2) .18 .26 .12 .2 .58 (.5)

And see the rogues flour-ish and hon - est folk droop; .22 .35 .15 .5 .6 .2 (.2) .26 .45 .18 .35 .48 (.75)

Marched then a - long fif - ty - score strong .52 .22 .12 .8 (.14) .35 .25 .5 .7 (.7)

Great-heart-ed gent-le-men, sing-ing this song.

.35 .3 .2 .3 .12 .3 (.45) .44 .25 .28 .68 (.9)

G.o.d for King Charles! Pym and such carles .6 .46 .5 .8 (.5) .38 .26 .3 .85 (.42)

To the Dev - il that prompts them their treas-on-ous parles!

.18 .18 .35 .25 .42 .5 .38 .2 .38 .1 .32 .75 (.55)

Cav - a - liers, up! Lips from the cup.

.35 .15 .5 (.4) .5 (.4) .6 .3 .12 .4

+--------------------------------------------------------------+ [31] Miss Snell, Pause; a Study of its Nature and its Rhythmical Function in Verse (Ann Arbor, 1918), pp. 78, 79. +--------------------------------------------------------------+