A triplet consists of three verses. Versification is the act of making verses in accordance with the doctrines of accent and quantity, and the laws of metrical arrangement. MEASURES. § 622. For every accented syllable in the following line write the letter a, and for every unaccented one the letter x, so that a stands for an accent, and 2 for the absence of one: Hast thou a charm' | to stay' | the morning star'?-COLERIDGE. Or, expressed symbolically: x a, xa, x a, x a, x a. When a coincides with hast, and a with thou, you may determine the length of the line in two ways: you may either measure by the syllable, and say that the line consists of ten syllables; or by the accents, and say that it consists of five accents. In this latter case, we take the accented syllable and its corresponding unaccented syllable, and, grouping the two together, deal with the pair at once. Now a Group of syllables, taken together, is called a MEASURE or a Foot. Thus, hast thou (x a) is one measure, a charm (x a) another, and so on throughout. The line itself consists of five measures. Measures, being the same as musical bars, received the name of Feet, because their time was regulated by the foot of the Corypheus or director of the Greek choirs. This action was called beating time. A foot or measure composed of an unaccented and an accented syllable (x a) is an Iambus. A foot composed of an accented and an unaccented syllable (a x) is a Trochee. A foot composed of two accented syllables (a a) is called a Spondee. A foot composed of two unaccented syllables (xx) is called a Pyrrhic. A foot composed of one accented and two unaccented syllables (a xx) is a Dactyl. A foot composed of one unaccented syllable and one accented and one unaccented (x a x) is an Amphibrach. A foot composed of two unaccented syllables and one accented (x x a) is an Anapest. 1. The following is composed of Iambics, according to the for mula xa: Sweet Thir' za waking as' | in sleep', Thou art' but now' | a love'lly dream ́; Then turned' | from earth' | its ten']der beam': Must pass when heaven' | is veiled' | in wrath'. Will long' | lament' | the van'lished ray' That scattered glad'|ness o'er' | his path'.-BYRON. 2. The following is composed of Trochees. The accented syllable comes first, the unaccented one follows, the formula being ax: Lay' thy bow' of pearl' a part', And thy silver | shin'ing | quiv'er; Give unto the flying | hart' Time' to breathe' how | short' solev'er; Thou' that mak'st' a | day' of ¦ night', God'dess! | ex'quisitely | bright'.-BEN JONSON. The number of these is limited to three, the Dactyl, the An. phibrach, the Anapest. 1. The first of these, the Dactyl, is exhibited in the word mer'rily (a x x). Mer'rily,mer'rily | shall' I live | now', Un'der the blos'som that | hangs' on the bough'.-SHAKSPEARE. 2. The second, the Amphibrach, is exhibited in the word disa'ble (x a x). But vainly thou war'rest: For this is alone' in Thy power to declare', That in' the dim for'est Thou heard'st a low moan'ing, And saw'st' a bright la'dy | surpass'ing|ly fair'.-Coleridge. 3. The third, the Anapest, is exhibited in the word cavalier' (x x a). There's a beauty forev'ler unfad' ingly bright', Like the long' | sunny lapse' | of a sum ́|mer day's light' ; A CESURA is a pause in a verse. Warms in the sun, || refreshes in the breeze, Glows in the stars, || and blossoms in the trees.-POPE. RHYME. § 623. RHYME has been defined as the correspondence which exists between syllables containing sounds similarly modified. It is not a mere ornament: it marks and defines the accent, and thereby strengthens and supports the rhythm. Its advantages have been felt so strongly, that no people have ever adopted an accented rhythm without also adopting rhyme. The moon is in her summer glow, But hoarse and high the breezes blow; And, racking o'er her face, the cloud Varies the tincture of her shroud.-SCOTT. Here the last syllables of each line in the two couplets are said to rhyme with each other. Fair queen! I will not blame thee now, As once by Greta's fairy side; Each little cloud that dimm'd thy brow Here the rhyming lines come alternately. What is grandeur? what is power? The grateful memory of the good. Sweet is the breath of vernal shower; The bee's collected treasure's sweet; Sweet music's melting fall; but sweeter yet The still, small voice of gratitude.-GRAY. Here the rhymes occur at wider intervals. For two or more words to rhyme with each other, it is nec essary, 1. That the vowel be the same in both. 2. That the parts following the vowel be the same. 3. That the parts preceding the vowel be different. Beyond this, it is necessary that the syllables, to form a full and perfect rhyme, should be accented syllables. Sky and lie form good rhymes, but sky and merrily bad ones, and merrily and silly worse. See LATHAM. man. IMPERFECT RHYMES. § 624. 1. None and own are better rhymes than none and man, because there are degrees in amount to which vowels dif fer from one another, and the sounds of the o in none and o in own are more alike than the sounds of o in none and the a in In like manner, breathe and teeth are nearer to rhymes than breathe and tease; and breathe and tease are more alike in sound than breathe and teal. All this is because the sound of th in teeth is more allied to that of th in breathe than that of s in tease; and the s in tease is more allied to the same sound (th) than the in teal. This shows that in imperfect rhymes there are degrees, and that some approach the nature of true rhymes more than others. 2. In matters of rhyme the letter h counts as nothing. High and I, hair and air, are imperfect rhymes, because h (being no articulate sound) counts for nothing, and so the parts before the vowels i and a are not different (as they ought to be), but identical. Whose generous children narrow'd not their hearts With commerce, given alone to arms and arts.-BYRON. 3. Words where the letters coincide, but the sounds differ, are only rhymes to the eye: breathe and beneath are in this predicament; so also are cease and ease (eaze.) In the fat age of pleasure, wealth, and ease, 量 Sprang the rank weed, and thrived with large increase.-POPE. 4. If the sounds coincide, the difference of the letters is unimportant. They talk of principles, but notions prize; TRIPLE DOUBLE AND TRIPLE RHYMES. § 625. An accented syllable standing by itself, and coming under the conditions given above, constitutes a SINGLE RHYME. An accented syllable followed by an unaccented one, coming under the conditions given above, constitutes a DOUBLE RHYME. When LOVE came first to earth, the SPRING Spread rose-buds to receive him; But Spring departing, saw his faith And richer bowers of SUMMER. The sportive AUTUMN claim'd by rights And even in WINTER's dark, cold nights, Her routs, and balls, and fireside joy, In short, Young Love's a gallant boy That likes all times and seasons.-CAMPbell. An accented syllable followed by two unaccented ones, and coming under the conditions stated above, constitutes a TREBLE RHYME. Oh ye immortal gods! what is theogony? Oh thou, too, immortal man! what is philanthropy? Some people have accused me of misanthropy, And yet I know no more than the mahogany That forms this desk of what they mean: lycanthropy Men become wolves on any slight occasion.-Byron. MIDDLE RHYME. § 626. MIDDLE RHYME is that which exists between the last accented syllables of the two sections of a line. Happy, ye sons of busy life, Who, equal to the bustling strife, Ev'n when the wish'd end's denied ; Meet every sad returning night I, listless yet restless, Find every prospect vain!-BURNS. And now there came both mist and snow, And it grew wondrous cold; And ice, mast-high, came floating by |