"Millions of op'ning mouths to fame belong,
And ev'ry mouth is furnish'd with a tongue,

And round with list'ning ears the flying plague is hung."
DRYDEN.

The Iambic Tetrameter Brachy-catalectic is an ancient kind of metre, and consists of seven Iambuses, being one foot less than four Iambic metres; it was a rule of this measure that the end of the fourth foot should be the end of a word; as,

"Thou hast my table richly spread, in presence of my foe; Thou hast my head with balm refresh'd, my cup doth overflow." STERNHOLD and HOPKINS.

This verse is now generally broken into a lyric measure of two lines, consisting, alternately, of four and three Iambuses; as,

presence of my foe;

Thou hast my head with balm refresh'd,
My cup doth overflow."

Verses of this kind are sometimes inserted in Heroic Poems, and read well when they conclude a triplet, and sense, and immediately follow a Trimeter Acatalectic; as, "For thee, the land in fragrant flow'rs is drest;

For thee the ocean smiles, and smooths her wavy breast,—

And Heav'n itself with more serene and purer light is blest."

DRYDEN.

Pure Iambic Verses contain no other foot than the Iambus, and are uniformly accented on the even syllables, the alternate syllables being unaccented. The following lines consist of pure Iambuses.

And thrice he routed all his foes,

And thrice he slew the slain.”

But however smooth and agreeable verses of this nature may be, they would, if frequently repeated, become mawkish and insipid. The number of verses in our poets

consisting of pure Iambuses is therefore very small, compared with those of mixed Iambuses.

But the kind of feet introduced must depend entirely on the subject; if it be of a grave and dignified character the verse will abound with long syllables; if of a lively nature, or if rapidity of motion be expressed, short syllables will prevail;* and this will be manifest to any one who will take the trouble to examine a page or two of any of our best poets, particularly Milton's Paradise Lost."

All kinds of English verse, when the accent is not on the last syllable, require the rhyme to begin on the vowel of the last accented syllable, and to continue to the end of the word, by this means a double rhyme is produced; as,

"In woods a ranger,

To joy a stranger."

"One spark bemoans his spatter'd waistcoat,
One, rot him, he has spoilt my laced coat."

In Burlesque poetry the accent is sometimes placed on a syllable that, naturally, has not any; as,

"When pulpit drum ecclesiastic

Was beat with fist instead of a stick."

HUDIBRAS.

When the accent falls on the last syllable but two, the rhyme begins at the vowel of the syllable, and thus a triple rhyme is produced. The triple rhyme is of rare occurrence, and is only used in verses of a peculiarly light

nature; as,

"How oft we see such fooleries
Imported from the Tuileries."

"There was an ancient sage philosopher
That had read Alexander Ross over."

In Blank Verse an additional syllable is not only allowed, but often produces a very pleasing effect. Verses of this nature are called Hypermeter; as,

"Farewell, a long farewell to all my greatness!
This is the state of man: To-day he puts forth
The tender leaves of hope; to-morrow blossoms,
And bears his blushing honours thick upon him;

*For a collection of examples in proof of these observations, see the Rhetorical Speaker.

The third day comes a frost, a killing frost,
And when he thinks, good easy man, full surely
His greatness is a-ripening, nips his shoot;
And then he falls, as I do."
SHAKSPEARE.

OF TROCHAIC VERSE.

The shortest form of the English Trochaic verse consists of one Trochee and a long syllable, and is called the Trochaic Monometer Catalectic; as,

"Dreadful gleams,

Dismal screams,
Fires that glow,

Shrieks of woe."

The Trochaic Monometer Acatalectic consists of one Trochaic metre, or two Trochaic feet, as in the fourth and fifth lines of the following stanza:

"Empire o'er the sea and main,
Heaven that gavè can take again;
But a mind that's truly brave"

Stands despising,

Storms arising,

And can ne'er be made a slave."

DRYDEN.

The Trochaic Monometer Hypercatalectic consists of one Trochaic metre and a long syllable, as in the first and third lines of the following stanza :

Verses of the above kinds are more generally used to give variety to Odes and Songs.

The Trochaic Dimeter Brachy-catalectic consists of three Trochees, being one foot less than two metres, as in the first, second, fourth, and fifth lines of the following

stanza.

"Go where glory waits thee,
And when Fame elates thee,
Oh! still remember me.

The Trochaic Dimeter Catalectic consists of three Trochees with an additional syllable, being one syllable less than two Trochaic metres; as,

"Tell me on what holy ground
May Domestic Peace be found!
Halcyon daughter of the skies
Far on fearful wings she flies,
From the pomp of sceptred state,
From the rebels noisy hate;
In a cottaged vale she dwells,
List'ning to the Sabbath bells!
Still around her steps are seen
Spotless Honour's meeker mien,
Love, the sire of pleasing fears,
Sorrow smiling thro' her tears;
And conscious of the past employ
Memory, bosom spring of Joy!"

COLERIDGE.

This is somewhat improperly called the Anacreontic measure; it is often used in short lively poems.

The Trochaic Dimeter Acatalectic consists of two Trochaic metres, or four Trochaic feet, as in the first and third lines of the following stanza:

"Fare thee well! and if for ever,

Still for ever fare thee well;

Een though unforgiving, never

'Gainst thee shall my heart rebel."

BYRON.

The Trochaic Dimeter Hypercatalectic consists of two Trochaic metres with a long syllable; as,

Lovely warbler swiftly rising high,

Chanting forth thy strains in azure sky."

The Trochaic Trimeter Brachycatalectic consists of five Trochaic feet, being one foot less than three Trochaic metres; as,

"He that here would gain true joy and pleasure

Must in heaven lay his heart and treasure."

The Trochaic Trimeter Acatalectic consists of three Trochaic metres, or six Trochaic feet; as,

"On a mountain, stretch'd beneath a hoary

willow,

Lay a shepherd swain, and view'd the roaming billow."

The last two kinds of metre are very rarely used.

It has been observed by an eminent writer on Versification, that Trochaic verses are in reality Iambics, wanting the first syllable, and that consequently they may be considered the same. He remarks that Milton made no distinction between the Iambic and Trochaic verse, occasionally using them in the same couplet; as,

"Come, but/keep thy/ wonted/state,

With ev/en step/and mu/sing gait."

In reading the above, the accent will be on the odd syllable in the first line, and on the even syllable in the second line.

Trochaic verse does not admit of that variety of feet in its composition which Iambic verse does, and which is a peculiar feature of this kind of poetry.

OF ANAPESTIC VERSE.

In Anapæstic verse one foot forms a metre, whereas in Iambic and Trochaic verse two feet form a metre. The shortest form of the Anapæstic measure is the Anapestic Monometer Acatalectic, which contains one perfect Anapæstic foot; as,

All in praise

Voices raise."

In the above, if the accent be laid on the first. syllable the verse becomes a Trochaic.

The Anapæstic Dimeter Acatalectic consists of two Anapests, as

"If you bliss would but see,

You from evil must flee.

* Dr. Carey.