they are not arranged at equal distances, and produce, therefore, no tune. But if we change the order thus: "Oh happiness, our being's end and aim!" we then find that every other syllable is accented, as hap, ness, be, end, aim, and this regular alternation converts the line into a poetical expression of the very same sentiment. The tune and the necessary alternation to produce the tune, serve to fix the line in the memory; for if we change the place of any word, or substitute another, the harmony of the line, or the uniformity of the sound is destroyed. The art of poetry consists, therefore, in the expression of sentiments in syllables so arranged as that long and short ones recur at regular distances, and a little habit makes this more easy than at first would seem practicable. Such are the general characteristics of poetry; but poets have added another feature, and they contrive to end every line with a syllable of similar sound, and two lines thus arranged in recurring quantities, with syllables of similar sound at the ends, is called a distich, or rhyme, and in the above instance Pope completed his distich, by adding another line of equal length and similar accentuation, ending with name to rhyme with aim.

"Good, Pleasure, Ease, Content, whate'er thy name," Which lines in prose would run thus:

"Whatever be the name of Happiness, whether Good, Pleasure, Ease, or Content, it is the aim and object of our being;"

and this sentiment being in the mind of the author, he, with the facility acquired by habit and a good ear, converted it into the distich

"Oh, Happiness !-our being's end and aim,

Good, Pleasure, Ease, Content, whate'er thy name;"

the reading of which, in contrast with the prose,

affects the imagination as well as the understanding, and adds pleasure to reflection.

Music was early found to be the most fascinating vehicle for sentiment. The poetry was composed to the music, and not the music to the words, as in modern times. Hence the absolute necessity of metre or rhyme, or something which should correspond with the musical cadence; hence the invention of all the different ancient metres, and the maxim that metre of some kind is essential to poetry.

There is one distinction between the poetry of the ancient and modern languages, which it becomes necessary to point out. Harmony is an essential part of poetry; but the harmony of ancient and mo-dern verse depends upon very different principles. The ancient languages were distinguished by what is called quantity; the same combinations of letters always formed either long or short syllables; and by certain arrangements of these the most perfect harmony could be produced. Modern languages, on the contrary, are defective with respect to the quantity of syllables, the same syllable being sometimes long and sometimes short. Some critics indeed have denied that we have any quantity at all, and say we have only accent, that is, a certain stress laid upon a particular syllable.

In the bulk of our poetry, and in our heroic verse, in particular, more attention, therefore, is given to accent than to quantity.

But the poets do not always write in the same measure, nor with alternate long and short syllables, but with varied intervals, though regular in the same piece, and this variety of measure and alternation merits special attention, while there is nothing difficult in it to the plainest understanding.

Our English verse is regulated by the number of syllables, and very little attention is paid to the quantity of the syllables, and even some degree of negligence in this respect seems often to add to its

beauty and variety; but it depends for its harmony on the rhyme, and on the pause, which divides the line into two hemistichs or half verses, and seems to give the reader time to breath, as

"Awake my St. John-leave all meaner things
To low ambition-and the pride of kings;
Let us since life can little more supply,
Than just to look about us-and to die,
Expatiate free-o'er all this scene of man,
A mighty maze-yet not without a plan."

In these lines the pause is finely varied, and the harmony complete, whereas when it falls too frequently in the same place, there is a monotony and tameness. It is only a good ear which, with proper practice, can regulate this essential feature of good poetry.

Heroic poetry, whether in rhyme or blank verse, consists of ten syllables; and in rhyme, or couplets or two lines rhyming to each other.-The most frequent measure next to this in English poetry is that of eight syllables. This is often appropriated to ludicrous poetry, such as Hudibras, and most of Swift's humorous pieces, and the humour is often heightened by double rhymes. Take for example of eight syllables the first lines of Hudibras

"When civil dudgeon first grew high,
And men fell out they knew not why;
When hard words, jealousies and fears,
Set folks together by the ears,

And made them fight like mad or drunk,
For Dame Religion as for punk,

Whose honesty they all durst swear for,
Though not a man of them knew wherefore."

Both the ten and eight syllable verses are generally considered as iambics; but some short poems have only seven syllables, and these may be regarded as trochaic, with a long syllable or double rhyme at the close

"Fill the bowl-with rosy wine,
Round our temples-roses twine,
Crown'd with roses-we contemn
Gyge's-wealthy diadem."

Many poems, and especially songs, are written in the dactyl or anapestic measure, some consisting of eleven or twelve syllables, and some of less. Of this measure we have a good specimen.

"My time, O ye Muses, was happily spent,

When Phoebe was with me wherever I went," &c.

Rhyme is not, however, an essential ingredient in English poetry, as the tragedies of Shakspeare, and the epic poems of Milton prove. Wanting the rhyme, it is called blank verse, and whether blank verse or rhyme is to be preferred is a matter in dispute among the critics. In tragedy it is more natural, as approaching nearer to prose; but Milton himself appears to be supported rather by the grandeur and sublimity of his thoughts and language, than by the harmony of his lines.

Poetry cannot be too early studied, and the volume called Classical English Poetry, edited by Pratt and Mavor, contains every piece of value in the entire works of the best poets, even those of our own days.

LETTER XXIII.

The Reading of English Poetry.

In English metre the words are generally so disposed, that the accent may fall on every second, fourth, and sixth syllable; and on the eighth, and tenth, and twelfth also, if the lines are so long. The first six lines of Blackmore's Prince Arthur, give us an instance without one variation.

I síng the Bríton and his gén'rous arms,
Who vérs'd in súff'rings, and the rudé alarms
Of wár, reluctant léft his nátive soil,
And úndismáy'd sustáin'd incéssant tóil,
Till léd by Heav'n propítious hé retúrn'd,

To bless the isle which lóng his ábsence moúrn'd.

But, because English verse is generally so constructed, it is not absolutely necessary to give this recurring sound to every line in poesy, and to lay stress upon every second syllable; for a great deal of just liberty and variation is allowed without destroying the harmony of the verse, and indeed it adds beauty and grace to the poetry, sometimes to indulge such variety, especially in the first and second syllables of the line.

Most people affect to read verse in a very different manner from prose; and lay a very hard and unnatural stress on every other syllable; even stopping and resting on it, whether the natural pronunciation of the words allow it or not. By this means they give a false and wretched accent to many words, and spoil good English to make it sound like verse, not only reading the song, but giving it a tune at the same time.

The great and general rule for reading English verse, is to pronounce every word, and every sentence, just as though it were prose, observing the stops with great exactness, and giving each word and syllable its due and natural accent; but with these two small differences.

I. At the end of every line, where there is no stop, make a stop about half so long as a comma, just to give notice that the line is ended.

II. If any words in the line happen to have two sounds, give that sound to it which most favours the metre and the rhyme.

To favour the metre, is to read two syllables distinct, or to contract them into one, according as