MILTON'S PROSODY BRIDGES Only two hundred and fifty copies have been printed on Large Paper; of ivhich this is No. ../...L. MILTON'S PROSODY AN EXAMINATION OF THE RULES OF THE BLANK VERSE in Milton's later poems, with an Account of the Versification of SAMSON AGONISTES, and general notes by ROBERT BRIDGES .. OXFORD AT THE CLARENDON PRESS Bonbon HENRY FROWDE OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS WAKEHOUSK AMEN CORNER, E.G. Qtew MACMILLAN & CO., 112 FOURTH AVENUE y INTRODUCTION. THE basis of this book is a tract which I wrote five years ago on the rules of Milton's verse in Paradise Lost] this is now reprinted with corrections. It is followed by an examination of Milton's subsequent verse, a most interesting development of which is found in Samson Agonistes. This part of the book is rewritten from a tract printed in 1889. And to these two tracts I now add some appendices in elucidation of a few questions arisen in the text. My intention throughout has been confined to Milton's verse, and to the mere structure of that : I have done little more than tabulate the simplest facts ; and while on the one side of the subject I have refrained from attempting to give any explanation of the laws of English prosody, I have on the other side avoided as far as possible entering even upon the borderland between prosody and poetry. The first of these limitations is desirable until the metrical facts are all got to- gether ; and there is still much more omitted than included in my rudimentary analysis. But to have made the distinctions which I have purposely avoided would have implied a very different task from what I set myself, and one, which, had I been disposed to devote time to it, I could not have accom- plished. Indeed, it was not until after I despaired of persuading others more competent than myself to execute the work, that I undertook what I have done. I have neither the faculty nor the habits which are the first requisites in one who would compile a grammar of any sort ; nor is that kind of labour congenial to my taste : the evidences of which in this book, its inaccuracies and oversights, I preengage the reader to excuse. And since 6 SYNOPSIS OF FIRST TRACT. classification at its best is often but mere convenience, I may hope that my method is not unfit for my definite and limited purpose. As the conditions under which the first tract was published forbade its swelling into a readable form, I give here a synopsis of it, a glance at which may, I hope, make its arrangement of rules and exceptions very easy to follow. R. B. SYNOPSIS OF FIRST TRACT, pp. 7-25. A REGULAR blank verse being first defined as obeying three con- ditions : (1) In the number of syllables, which is ten. (2) In the number of stresses, which is five. (3) In the position of stresses, which is on the even syllables. Then its variations are tabulated under these same three heads ; that is, Exceptions : (1) To the number of syllables being ten, pp. 7-16. (2) To the number of stresses being five, pp. 17-19. (3) To the stresses falling on the even syllables, pp. 19-21. A chapter on the caesura or break of the verse, pp. 23-25. ON THE ELEMENTS OF MILTON'S BLANK VERSE IN PARADISE LOST. The typical verse has (1) ten syllables, (2) with five stresses, (3) in rising rhythm (i. e. with the stresses on the even syllables). See Ap. G. (1) OF SUPERNUMERARY SYLLABLES. A. Extrametrical syllables. I. At end of line. An extra syllable sometimes occurs at the end of the line, more rarely in Miltcn than in most writers, e.g. (1) Of rebel Angels, by whose aid aspi(ring). i. 38 and ex. (23) (95). Sometimes there are two such syllables, e. g. (2) Imbued, bring to their sweetness no sati(ety). viii. 216. (3) For solitude sometimes is best soci(ety). ix. 249. See p. 41. II. In other parts of the line. In Shakespeare it is common to find an analogous syllable in the midst of the line. See Ap. A. And thus in Comus : (4) To quench the drouth of Phce(bus) ; which as they taste. 66. (5) And as I passed I wor( shipped). If those you seek. 302. (6) And earth's base built on stub(ble). But come let's on. 599. (7) But for that damned magi(cian), let him be girt. 602. (8) Root-bound that fled Apol(lo). Fool, do not boast. 662. (9) Crams and blasphemes his fee(der). Shall I go on? 779. In P. L. Milton disallowed the use of this syllable. In the following lines, where the rhythmical effect is partly L ^f ^\ 8 THE VERSE OF preserved, the extra syllable is accounted for by Elision. See B. II. (10) Departed from (thee) ; and thou resemblest now. iv. 839. (n) Before (thee) ; and not repenting this obtain, x. 75. (12) Of high collateral glo(ry) : Him thrones and powers, x. 86, etc. etc. B. Other supernumerary syllables fall under Elision (which term is generally applied, and is here used as a convenient name, but not to imply that anything is cut off, or lost, or not pronounced). See Ap. B. I. The Elisions of common speech. As in the first line, (13) Of man's first disobedience, and the fruit, where the ie in 'disobedience' is neither a diphthong nor a disyllabic. [In his earlier poems Milton has some- times used the older full pronunciation of such words, e.g. Comus-. (14) With all the grisly legi-ons that troop. 603. (15) Or ghastly furies' appariti-on. 641. (16) By a strong siding champion consci-ence. 212. and thus Delusi-on, conditi-on, complexi-on, visi-on, contemplati-on, etc. There is no example of this in P. L.] II. Poetic Elisions. These, which were common in Shakespeare, Milton in P. L. reduced, and brought under law. His rules are four. a. The first is the rule of open vowels. All open vowels may be elided, whether long, short, double, or combined; and whether both the vowels be in the same word, or divided between two : and h is no letter. Such words as the following fall under this rule : Being, doing, flying, riot, violent, Israel, Abraham, atheist, hierarchy, variety, obsequious, vitiated, etc. and the italicised vowels in the following lines; e.g. (17) Above thtf Ionian mount, while it pursues, i. 15. PARADISE LOST. 9 (18) To set himself in glory above his peers, i. 39. (19) Strange horror seize thee, and pangs unfelt before, ii. 703. (20) Virtue in her shape how lovely; saw, and pined, iv. 848. (21) Not in themselves all their known \\rtue appears, ix. no, etc. (22) N0 Ungrateful food : and food alike those pure. v. 407. (23) For still they knew, and ought to ^ave still remembered, x. 12. (24) And rapture so oft beheld : those heavenly shapes, ix. 1082. (25) Though kept from man, and worthy to be admired, ix. 746. (26) He effected. Man he made and for him built, ix. 152. (27) As lords, a spacious world, to 0ur native heaven, x. 467. (28) Little inferiour, by my adventure hard. x. 468. (29) Thou didst accept them : wilt thou mjoy the good. x. 758. (30) For God is also in sleep ; and dreams advise, xii. 6n. (31) With spattering noise rejected : oft they assayed, x. 567 and ex. (10, II, 12). In such words as Higher, though, the silent g does not forbid, e. g. (32) Not higher that hill, nor wider looking round, xi. 381. (33) For he who tempts, though in vain, at least asperses, ix. 296. And iv may be regarded as a vowel : as in the words Power, bower, flower, shower, sewer, toward, follower, narrower, etc., and thus the following : (34) Of sorrow wnfeigned, and humiliation meek. x. 1092. And when wh is pronounced h, e. g. (35) To whom thus the portress of Hell-gate replied, ii. 746. (36) Two only, who yet by sovran gift possess, v. 366 and (148). [t In the list of words just given there are two, Sewer (a drain) and toward, which have come down to us con- tracted each of them in two different ways ; Toward either as to'ard or t'ward, and sewer had a form shore, which is not quite obsolete. There may be room there- fore for difference of opinion as to how these words would have been pronounced by Milton, but in any case B 10 THE VERSE OF they belong to the class of words suffering elision by virtue of w considered as a vowel. ] 0. The second rule, pure R. Of unstressed vowels separated by r the first may be elided, as in the words : Nectarous, weltering, suffering, glimmering, etc., mineral, general, several, every, artillery, desperate, de- liberate, emperour, amorous, timorous, torturer, disfigur- ing, measuring, etc. (37) Invoke thy aid to my adventurous song. i. 13 and (12) (31). Also when the vowel is written double, as in Conqueror, labouring, savoury, neighbouring, honouring, endeavour- ing, etc., and thus are to be explained such verses as the following, where the elision is between two words : (38) A pillar 0f state: deep on his front engraven, ii. 302. (39) By day a cloud, by night a pillar of fire. xii. 203. (40) All judgement, whether z'n heaven, or earth, or hell. x. 57. (41) Celestial, whether among the thrones, or named, xi. 296. (42) Carnation, purple, azure, or specked with gold. ix. 429. (43) With spots of gold & purple, azure and green, vii. 479. (44) The savour of death from all things there that live. x. 269. t Note on the word spirit. Milton uses the word spirit (and thus its derivatives) to fill indifferently one or two places of the ten in his verse (e.g. I. 17 and 101). The first vowel cannot suffer elision under the rule of pure r, because it is stressed. The word is an exception. It commonly discards one i, the question is which. It might be the first, for the old French espirit, whence our word immediately derives, has become esprit, and we have a form sprite. But Milton would have written this ; and we may be confident that he suppresses the second vowel, following the Italian use, which in poetry both writes and pronounces spirito and spir'tOy e.g. Mentre che 1' uno spir'to questo disse. Ikf. v. 139. PARADISE LOST. II There is a local burring pronunciation of r (heard sometimes when Americans say American) which, when the first of the separated vowels is stressed, dis- guises the second : and it has been suggested that this is the account of Milton's pronunciation of spirit, and even supposed that the same burr caused the contraction of words \fa& general, mineral, towards general, miner '/. But Milton printed general, and the line, ix. 1116, tho thus of late Columbus found the Ame-ri-can so girt, and the consideration of Milton's choice Italian, and of the fact that in his verse Merit, prosperity, and like words never show any sign of loss of length, will be sufficient to establish the proper reading of the word spirit in P. L. and discredit this ugly suggestion altogether. See Ap. E. tt The pure r occurring in adjectives in able, as tolerable does not allow elision, the a taking the stress- place, see under next rule : and misery is always three syllables. y. The third rule of pure L. Unstressed vowels before pure / may be elided, as in the words Popular, populous, articulate, credulous, groveling, perilous, or even when the / is written double, as in Devillish, e. g. (45) As one who long in populous city pent. ix. 445. [f Of these words, perilous should not be considered as losing its i in the burr of the r (parlous). See above, on this page, .] The chief exercise of this elision is in the termination of words, especially adjectives in ble, the le being treated as pronounced el or '/, e. g. (46) His temple right against the temp/ and a pronunciation eel. But with regard to Milton's use, the facts are that Evil occurs some forty times uncontracted, and about eight times besides at the end of lines (uncontracted), while of the eight times that it suffers contraction or elision seven are before a vowel, and thus bring the word under the rule of final /. Be- sides this, Milton has written knowledge of good and ill, instead of good and evil, where the required elision is forbidden by a consonant. It will therefore be more regular to consider the following line, (105) Both good and evil ; good lost and evil got. ix. 1072. as an exception, or an error of the printer for evil and good, or a slip of attention. * And Milton did not use the v contraction of Even, e'en, for he prints Ev'n, as he does Heaven ; and thus Eev'ning and Eev'n, and Seatfn for seven, see next rule. fl. The fourth rule is of the elision of unstressed vowels before N. e before final n does not require the n to be pure, e. g., Heaven, even, seven, etc., such words seem to follow the analogy of the contracted (rather than elided) parti- ciple in en, q.v. C. II. a. on next page. other vowels, and e before n not final, re- PARADISE LOST. 15 quire the n pure : e. g. Business, hardening, original, opening, countenance, luminous, ominous, threatening, brightening, deafening, libidinous, unreasoning, etc. And this rule governs the following examples : (i 06) Whom reason bath equalled, force hath made supreme, i. 248. (107) For those rebellious ; here their prison ordained. 1.71. (108) Of massy iron, or solid rock, with ease. ii. 878. and final en is often thus found, (109) Earth, and the garden of God, with cedars crowned, v. 260, etc. (no) Our own begotten, and of our loins to bring, x. 983, etc. there are only (?) two exceptions, viz. the words prison and iron are each of them contracted once before a consonant, (in) Out of such prison, though spirits of purest light, vi. 660. iron, iii. 594, might have its usual pronunciation iern. * Derivatives of seven, etc. follow the use of the simple word, e. g. sevenfold, heavenly. e. The only (?) exception to the above four rules of elision is the word capital, which is contracted, ii. 924 ; xi. 343 ; and its related Capitoline ix. 508. C. Of Contractions (treated of here for convenience), these, like elisions, are either I. Of common speech. Such as the perfect tenses and participles in ed, which Milton often writes / as pronounced : and these need no comment, but note (112) Confus'dly, and which thus must ever fight. 11.914(510). II. Poetical contractions. (Such as common use has made distinct words are not reckoned, e. g. o'er, e'er.} a. First of these the contraction of the perfect par- ticiple in en. E.g. Fall'n, ris'n, driv'n, chos'n, giv'n, eat'n, forbidd'n, etc. (see elision under n, and Ap. B). 16 THE VERSE OF 3. Second. Milton prefers the contracted form of the termination of the second person singular of verbs ; writing not only Thinkst, seekst, spakst, sawst, dwellst, etc., but eatst, foundst, commandst, which are ugly ; and preferring Rememberst to Rememb'rest, Openst to Op'nest, as his theory compelled Revisitst for Revis'test. y. Third. The superlative termination similar in form to the last was not unfrequently contracted by Shakespeare. Milton does not contract this : in P. L. i. 202 he forbids it by printing tW for the. There is one exception in P. R. (113) Severest temper, smooth the rugged' st brow. P. K. ii. 164. d. Fourth. The contraction of in the, of the, etc., com- mon in Shakespeare, is not made use of in P. L. The exception i 9 ttt midst, i. 224, xi. 432, stands alone. SUMMARY OF FOREGOING RULES. All the poetical elisions and contractions in P. L. may there- fore be reduced to the following four rules : 1. Open vowels (as interpreted). 2. Vowels separated by the liquids /, n, r (as defined). 3. Final en. 4. The 2nd pers. sing, of verbs. The only exceptions are 1. The word capital ) _ 2. The word spirit } See ?' 27 > Under short l 3. The words Iron, prison, and evil, each once. 4. /' tK midst. PARADISE LOST. 17 (2) OP VAKIETY IN NUMBER OP STRESSES. A. The typical line has five full stresses, e.g. (i 14) Raised impious war in Heav'n, and battle proud, i. 43. t Stress has perhaps a natural tendency to be weaker in the alternate places, like music in common time, and typically the stronger stresses would be in the odd places, see (125), (126), (127). But in a five-foot metre (and this is one of its advantages) it is evident that the odd foot will contradict this and set up varieties : and all possible combinations of these are used. B. Lines with only four stresses. It is common for one stress in the line to be absent, or to be so much -weaker than the others that it may be con- sidered as failing. I. The omitted stress may be the first, e.g. (132), (133), and (115) And in luxurious cities, where the noise, i. 498. (i 1 6) As from the center thrice to th' utmost pole. i. 74. t Note, the effect of this is always to weaken the line. It is therefore rare, and it is only in long poems that it can be used with good effect. ft Initial weak feet are, like the examples above, almost always made up of two monosyllables, and a slight accent will be given in reading to the first of them, so that the foot is really inverted ; see p. 19 on inversions, and on inversions of the first foot. Thus in ex. 1 1 5 a slight stress falls on the conjunction and none on the preposition. As to whether the prepositions had more stress value in Milton's time, so as to forbid this rhythm, see Ap. E. ttt The conjunction and often occurs in stress-places in Milton's verse, where stressing it would make the verse ridiculous. See Par. Reg. lines 99-109. c 1 8 THE VERSE OF II. The stress may be omitted in the second place, e. g. 117) Served only to discover sights of woe. i. 64. (118) Still glorious, before whom awake I stood, viii. 464. t This last is perhaps an example of the Rule of the recession, or retreating of accent, i.e. when a di- syllabic accented on the last was followed immediately by another strongly accented syllable, the accent of the former was sometimes in speaking shifted back, and bef6re wh6m may have been read before wh6m. But it is better to consider that there is no recession of accent in Paradise Lost. See for exceptions Ap. D. This rhythm may give very beautiful verses, e. g. (119) Nor served It to relax their serried files, vi. 599. (120) Our little life | Is rounded with a sleep. Shakespeare. III. Or the stress may fail in the third place, e. g. (lai) A dungeon horrible on all sides round, i. 61. t The failure of the middle stress divides the line into two equal parts ; which rhythm was much used by Pope for the exhibition of antithesis, etc. Thousands of monotonous lines since run in this manner, (122) The friar hooded and the monarch crowned. Ess. on M. cobbler apron ,, parson gown. ib. ants' republic realm of bees. ib. rapt'rous moment placid honr. Byron. fowl domestic household dog. Wordsw. IV. Or the fourth place may fail. This is very com- mon, e. g. (123) Sole reigning, holds the tyranny of heaven, i. 124. V. Or the fifth place may be weak ; but here the close of the line will give a conventional stress, e, g. (124) No light ; but rather darkness visible, i. 63. PARADISE LOST. 19 C. Some lines have only three full stresses, e.g. (125) His ministers of vengeance and pursuit. 1.170. (126) The sojourners of Goshen who beheld. 309. (127) Transfix iis to the bottom of this gulf. 329. In many cases a weak place in such lines is balanced or accounted for by strengthening (even to stressing) the normally unstressed syllable, which is attached to the next following stress. See again Ap. D. (3) OP INVERSION OP EHYTHM. Blank verse is typically in rising rhythm; i.e. the stress is regularly on the even syllables, as in ex. (114). But the rhythm is sometimes falling ; i. e. the stress may be shifted on to the odd syllable in any place in the line. It is then described as inverted. t Of inverted stress. Inversions of stress in all places except the first disturb the rhythm so as to call attention to the word which carries the irregular stress : they are therefore used primarily in relation to the sense (see the following examples (a)). But in a long poem like P. L. the more common inversions soon be- come as familiar to the ear as is the typical rhythm ; they then fall into the condition of the inversion of the first foot, and enliven the rhythm without taxing the sense (see the following examples (b)). ft Inversion is most common in the 1st foot, next in the 3rd and 4th, very rare in 2nd, and most rare in 5th. I. Inversions of first foot. This inversion does not affect the sense, but it freshens the rhythm, e.g. (128) Regions of sorrow, doleful shades, where peace. 1.65. t As a general rule, when the first foot is weak [see (2) B. I.] it will strengthen itself by a slight conventional inversion in spite of the sense, e.g. c 2 30 THE VERSE OF (129) We shall be free. i. 259 and (146), (147). ft This behaviour of the initial foot accounts also for all inversions which follow periods in the sense. II. Inversion of the second stress, e. g. (130) (a) A mind n6t to be changed by time or place, i. 253. (131) (a) Me, me dnly, just object of his ire. x. 936. (132) To the gdrden of bliss, thy seat prepared, viii. 299. ( J 33) In the visions of God. It was a hill. xi. 377. See p. 37. III. Inversion of third stress, e. g. (i 34) (a) For one restraint, Urds 0/~the world besides, i. 32. ( J 35) ( b ) Which, tasted, works knowledge of good and evil. vii. 543. IV. Inversion of fourth stress, e. g. (,136) (a) Illumine ; what is low, raise and support, i. 23. (137) (a) As when two polar winds, blowing adverse, x. 289. (138) Before thy fellows, ambitious to win. vi. 160. (139) (b) From noon, and gentle airs, dtie at their hour. x. 93. V. Inverted fifth stress. This is very rare, and does not so much emphasise the word which carries it, as it imparts strangeness to the sentence, well used in the following ex- amples : (140) Beyond all past example and future, x. 840. (141) Which of us who beholds the bright surface, vi. 472. t Some poets say that this rhythm is impossible, and was not intended ; and would accent future and surface on the last ; and so they must accent prostrdte in (142) Of Thrones and mighty Seraphim prostrate, vi. 841. though Milton always uses future and prostrate, and there is said to be no other example of surface in litera- ture. If it be argued that these words, being compounds or Latin, do not forbid the distortion, it may be that they were chosen to give such readers an option ; and this would cover PARADISE LOST. 21 (143) Spoiled Principalities and Powers, triumphed, x. 186. for this verb is accented either way. See Comus 974. But 141 is a very beautiful inversion, and 142 is descrip- tive. It would have been strange if Milton had never used this rhythm, for there are several ways by which it is naturally arrived at, especially from our reading classical iambic verse. tt The above inversions, as all other variations of rhythm, owe their value to the presupposed metrical type from which they vary : but they must not be dis- guised by reading a conventional stress in the regular place. The rhythm is determined by them, and the metre is not falsified for two reasons, first, because the interruption is not long enough, the verse imme- diately returning to the original rhythm ; and second, because a majority of verses enforce the impression of the type. VI. There may be more than one inversion in the same line. a. Examples of inversion of 1st and 2nd. See p. 36. (144) (a) Universal reproach, far worse to bear. vi. 34. (145) By the waters of life, where'er they sat. xi. 79. /3. Of 3rd and 4th. (146) (a) As a despite done against the Most High. vi. 906. y. Of 2nd and 4th. (147) (b) In their triple degrees ; regions to which, v. 750. In these last two examples the weak first foot is also in- verted. See above, 1. 1 on p. 19. 22 THE VERSE OF Note. There are two points to observe in Milton's manner of using his rules of elision. First, that the rules being in every case only permissive, he indicates no rule for their use ; their application is arbitrary. We read on the same page : (148) To whom Mijchael thus, | he al|-so moved, | replied, xi. 453- (149) To whom | thus Mi|cha-el; | Death thou | hast seen. 466. Again, after The im|age of | a brute, we have (150) Th' image | of God | in man, | created once. xi. 508 and cp. vii. 527. Again, the substantive Being suffers elision, (151) That gave | thee being, | still shades | thee,and | protects, ix. 266. while the less important participle has sometimes its full value, (152) His violence | thou fearst | not, be j -ing such | ix. 282, etc. etc. Second, that Milton came to scan his verses one way, and read them another. The line quoted above (150), and add IV. 805, must be read, The {m\age of G6d \ like The sA\vour of Dtath \ (44), and A pil\lar of state \ (38). Again, the line ( J 53) Of rain | bows and | starry eyes. | the wa|ters thus, must be read, Of rainjbows and star|ry eyes. | the wajters thus. vii. 446. In example (96) there scanned, we must read Shoots in | visible | virtue | even to | the deep ; compare also what is said on Samson^ p. 44. We may say generally that Milton's system in Par. Lost was an attempt to keep blank verse decasyllabic by means of fictions : or (if we suppose that he admitted the principle Qimetrical equivalence i. e. the principle by PARADISE LOST. 23 which a place, which can be occupied by a long syllable, may admit two short ones in its stead, see App. F), it may be said that he formulated the conditions most common to those syllables which experience shewed were oftenest and best used for trisyllabic places ; and then worked within the line which he had thus drawn. On the caesura or break in the verse. Like the classic metres which have the caesura fixed by rule, a blank verse in English tends to divide itself into two balancing parts ; and a natural rhythmical divi- sion may generally be felt in lines which contain no grammatical pause. But where there is any grammatical pause it is that which determines the break. Now since blank verse is a system of short sentences of all possible variety of length, fitted within the frame of a five-foot metre, the tendency of the break towards the middle part of the verse is easily lost ; and when the verse is handled in a masterly manner the break may occur well in any part of the line. It is necessary, there- fore, to discard the word caesura, with its precise sig- nification, and call this division in blank verse the break. In the following illustrations consider the verse as of ten syllabic units, and the break to occur between the two components of ten which are given to represent the verse ; thus, 1 2 345 6 7 89 10 (154) Of man's first dis-o-be-dience, and the fruit is a 7 -f 3 line : i. e. the break occurs between the 7th and 8th syllables : seven before it and three after. 24 THE VERSE OF Here is an example of the relation between sentences and metre in an elaborate passage. The following sentences : * * * Harmonious numbers : 5 syllables. As the wakeful bird sings darkling, 8 And in shady covert hid, 7 Tunes her nocturnal note. 6 Thus with the year seasons return ; 8 But not to me returns day, 7 Or the sweet approach of even or morn. 9 Make the verses, (155) Harmonious numbers ; as the wakeful bird [5 + 5] (156) Sings darkling, and in shady covert hid, [3 + 7] (157) Tunes her nocturnal note. Thus with the year [6 + 4] (158) Seasons return, but not to me returns [4 + 6] (159) Day, or the sweet approach of even or mom. iii. 38 sq. [1 + 0] The above and the following will give examples of all the nine single breaks, (160) Join voices all ye living souls : ye Birds, v. 197. [8 + 2] * * * Firm they might have stood (161) Yet fell : remember and fear to transgress, vi-end. [2 + 8] * * * Such as in their souls infixed (162) Plagues : they astonished all resistance lost. vi. 838. [1+9] (163) And bush with frizzled hair implicit : Last [9 + 1] Rose as in dance the stately trees, etc. vii. 323. Observe in the last three examples how the break em- phasizes the sense. t The early defenders of Par. Lost, when still fewer than fit, were scandalised by the verse 1+9. This should be remembered in possibly analogous cases by those who now sit in their critical seats. Double breaks. There are sometimes two or more breaks in a line : the frequence of these, with the severity of the PARADISE LOST. 25 breaks, is a distinction of Milton's verse. The following are some examples. It is not always possible to say whether a verse has one or two breaks ; readers would differ. (164) Hail Son of God, Saviour of men ! Thy name. iii. 412. [4 + 4 + 2] (165) Instruct me, for thou knowst; Thou from the first, i. 19. [3 + 3 + 4] (166) Shall grieve him, if I fail not, and disturb, i. 167. [3+4 + 3] (167) Of God, as with a mantle, didst invest, iii. 10. [2 + 5 + 3] Ex. (i 28) is [5 + 3 + 2] These are indications of the varieties, which are numberless ; for when the metrical components of a verse are parts of sentences the other parts of which go to the composition of the next verses before and after, the breaks of such verses cannot be considered apart : and were these varieties exhausted, the variations of these as effected by the position of weak or inverted stresses would remain to reckon, before the changes possible in the mere formal rhythm, apart from all that is intro- duced by the language, were enumerated. It is few who will pursue this path any further. P.S. It should be added that any consideration of Milton's rhythm or versification in P. L. should exclude those passages where he follows the Authorised Version of the Bible especially where the speaker is the Deity. Reverence for the text has made him insert it almost un- altered, the lines are often as bad as they can be, and one of them does not scan at all. There is probably no satisfactory way out of the difficulty. ON THE PROSODY OF PARADISE REGAINED AND SAMSON AGONISTES. Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes were written some time after the completion of Paradise Lost, and the examination of their metre and rhythm is therefore of great interest, as it must divulge to us whether Milton was satisfied with the rules by which he had bound himself in his long poem ; and, if he was not, in what direction he was inclined to alter them. Such an enquiry will show that Milton did not think it worth while to keep strictly to his laws of ' elision,' but that he approved of the great rhythmical experiments which he had made, and extended these. In examining these two poems, I shall arrange the matter in two chapters ; in the first I will give all the examples which show departure from the rules of prosody tabulated from Paradise Lost ; in the second I will give an account of the metrical and rhythmical system of Samson, which contains Milton's most elaborate and artificial versification. CHAPTER I. ON THE RELAXATION WHICH is FOUND IN Paradise Regained AND Samson Agonistes OF THE LAWS OF * ELISION' so CALLED IN Paradise Lost. THERE are altogether only about a score of exceptions to the old rules : so that they would seem to indicate a cession of principle rather than a change of practice, if it were not for the rarity in MILTON'S LATEST VERSE. 27 all good verse of such examples as here present themselves. None of the following lines would have been admitted into Para- dise Lost : (1) The worst of all indigm/ies yet on me. S. A. 1341. (2) The rest was magnanimzVy to remit. 1470. (3) And he in that calamzVous prison left. 1480. (4) Thy pohVic maxims or that cumbersome. P. R. iii. 400. (5) With youthful courage and magnam'wous thoughts. S. A. 524. (6) She 's gone, a manz/est serpent by her sting. 997. (7) But province or instinct of nature seems. 1545. (8) And all the floum/ing works of peace destroy. P. R. iii. 80. (9) Wilt thou, then, serve the Philz'-tfines with that gift. S. A. 577. (10) Soaked in his enmies blood ; and from the stream. 1726. (n) Present in temples at idolatrous rites. 1378. (12) Drunk with idolatry, drunk with wine. 1670. (13) The close of all my miseries and the balm. 651. Of the above, the first four examples are all of them instances of short z being admitted into the fiction of elision before t, as in the word capital, which was the only exception in Paradise Lost (see p. 15, e., and note also that the word spirit, see p. 10, might be reckoned in this class of words) : and capital itself occurs contracted again in Samson, lines 394 and 1225. In the following line, moreover, the it elision is made between two words, just as in Paradise Lost liquid terminations were ' elided ' before initial vowels (see p. 10, exx. 38-44 and p. n, exx. 46, et seq.) (14) In slavish habzV, ill-fitted weeds. S. A. 122. The examples 5 to 9 are a further extension ; the short i stand- ing before other consonants than / : and 8 and 9 are, I should say, instances of the theory of the shortness of this z being allowed to override the verdict of the ear. The examples 10 to 12 are all from Samson, and they look at first as if the vowel and liquid elision theory had been quite dis- carded. But this conclusion would not be justified, for if exx. 5, D 2 28 MILTON'S 10, and 20 be taken together, all is explained by supposing that Milton now recognised the claim of m to be a liquid admitting elision ; and that the word idolatry ', which alone remains to be accounted for, is an exception. It has been suggested to me that that word had very probably acquired among the puritans a fixed and recognised pronunciation which Milton would have had pleasure in adopting. But, in any case, these examples point to the conclusion that Milton was less strict with himself, and they reduce the condition of his trisyllabic feet very near to the common use. Example 13 contradicts Milton's consistent pronunciation of misery. Elsewhere he always insists on all the three syllables, which is the more expressive pronunciation of the word. [The first of the examples given above is quite exceptional in Milton's verse, for it has an uncertainty both of rhythm and scansion. Besides that suggested, there are two other possible explanations of its prosody. The first of these is that the line has an extrametrical syllable at the end, and an inverted fifth foot, thus The worst | of all | indigjnities | yet on (me). This is good rhythm, and best supported by the sense ; for the stress is awkward on on, and is not really wanted on me. The whole passage is powerful, and well carries this unusual rhythm, which was suggested to me independently by two readers. It must be remembered also that it is not unlikely that the exist- ence of an alternative rhythm may be in favour of an unusual one (see above, p. 20). The second alternative is the rhythm which is most likely to be given to it ; The worst | of all | indig|nities | yet on (me). As stated before, the accenting of on is awkward, but there are these lines more or less in favour of it (15) That fault I take not on me, but transfer. 241. (16) Or rather flight, no great advantage on me. 1118. The reader may choose for himself.] LATEST VERSE. 29 The following lines are examples of an initial y being treated as a vowel, as was allowed with w (see p. 9, ex. 35, etc.). (17) Justly, yet despair not of his final pardon. 1171. (18) Some way or other yet further to afflict thee. 1252. (19) Whose offspring in his territory yet serve. P. /?. iii. 375. In the last of these lines it has been suggested that Milton intended an ' elision ' of the of territory. But it is not his practice to neglect the length of a vowel (comp. his respect for the a Qimiserable, etc., p. 12, etc.) and it cannot be supposed here. There are left only two lines which exhibit novelties : the first is (20) To something ex|traor|dina|ry my thoughts | 1383. This is the evident rhythm and scansion of the line, like ex. 5 above. It is without parallel in all the verse of Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained^ and Samson Agonistes, there being in the fifth place a trisyllabic foot, which is not resoluble by the fictions. But it is interesting to see how easily these might be extended : for here are two unstressed vowels, the first of which is short, separated by a liquid, in every respect corresponding to the conditions allowed, except in this, that the liquid is not terminal, but initial to the second vowel. As it is, it stands alone in Milton, and there can be little doubt that the sense provoked it. It may at first seem childish to assert that 'something extraordinary ' in the sense determined something extraordinary in the prosody : yet to deny this requires the acceptance of an unlikely alternative ; we must believe that at the crisis in the poem where Samson declares that he feels within him the divine impulse, which leads to the catastrophe of the tragedy, there occurs, by accident, a unique liberty in the author's prosody. This improbability is much increased when we consider how Milton's rhythm is always ready to follow his thought ; a habit with him so essential to his style and so carefully trained, that a motive, like that which this passage carries, could hardly have been passed over without some exceptional treatment. 30 MILTON'S The other and last novelty is the line (21) Out, out, | Hyse(na) ! | these are | thy won] ted arts. 748 and here apparently is the extrametrical syllable returned to its place (see p. 7. II, and Appendix A) ; at least so the rhythm will read, however the prosody be explained. But the system of prosody in Samson plainly forbids extrametrical syllables in the midst of the line, and there is certainly no other example. Unless, therefore, we suppose that there is here such an extra- metrical syllable admitted by oversight, or allowed as unlikely to introduce any uncertainty into the prosody (which it does not), we must receive one or other of the following scansions to justify the verse; either Out out | Hysena | the'se are | thy won | ted arts i. e., with 2nd and 3rd feet inverted, and ' elision ' of the first syllable of Hyaena, or Out out | Hyselna these f are thy wonjted arts, with ' elision ' of y before w in the fourth foot. The extreme lengths to which such fictions of scansion are pushed in Samson independently of the rhythm (see later on, p. 44) would admit the first of these explanations. But whatever scansion be taken it is of no importance, the line is not in the condition of ex. I, in which both rhythm and scansion are in doubt, for the rhythm here is unmistakeable, the doubt is only how it is intended to be justified in prosody. The above are, I believe, all the exceptions in these poems to the laws which govern the trisyllabic places in Paradise Lost. The reader may therefore draw his own conclusions. I will state my own, which have changed somewhat since I came to tabulate them. I conclude that after writing Paradise Lost, Milton First, extended his rule of liquids to include m. Secondly, that he has once extended the liberty of ' elision ' between two words to include cases in which the liquid was initial to the second word. LATEST VERSE. 31 Thirdly, that as he used capital and spirt in Paradise Lost, he now generally regarded a short i before pure / as specially short and elidible, and even once allowed this 'elision' be- tween separate words. Fourthly, that he admitted the short i occurring before other consonants into trisyllabic places. Fifthly, that he treated initial y as a vowel. Lastly, if these extensions of his rules be admitted, there are only two exceptions, one the use of idolatrous and idolatry, of which an explanation is suggested (and see later, p. 45) : the other the probable occurrence of an extrametrical syllable within the line. To these should be added the exception, ex. 113, on p. 16. On the other hand it maybe said with truth, that, taking Mil- ton's poems together, they do not differ much on these points from the poems of other good writers ; that in all the best blank verse the trisyllabic feet are made up almost exclusively of open vowels, or vowels separated by liquids ; and that, after these, the most frequent condition is that of short /. But if my statements are true, I think it impossible to doubt that in Paradise Lost Milton purposely excluded all trisyllabic feet but those made by open vowels and three liquids, and that he afterwards relaxed this rule to admit m and short i : and if he did not consciously exclude other short vowels a conclusion which his early verse does not support his practice must then have been guided solely by his ear, in which case it is still more worthy of attention. Here are a few examples of the licences which Milton re- jected Like to a vagabond flag upon the stream. Ant. Cleop. i. 4. To try thy ebquence, now 'tis time : dispatch, iii. 10. Even in the visions of her eloquent sleep. Shelley. Islam. Of flowering parasites, did spring love to dress. Shelley. Islam. 32 THE VERSE OF CHAPTEE II. AN ACCOUNT OF THE METRICAL SYSTEM OF Samson Agonistes. THE opinions which critics have ventured on the versification of the choruses in Samson Agonistes would be sufficient proof that they had met with something not well understood, even if they had never misinterpreted the rhythm. It is not less than an absurdity to suppose that Milton's carefully-made verse could be unmusical : on the other hand it is easy to see how the far- sought effects of the greatest master in any art may lie beyond the general taste. In rhythm this is specially the case ; while almost everybody has a natural liking for the common funda- mental rhythms, it is only after long familiarity with them that the ear grows dissatisfied, and wishes them to be broken ; and there are very few persons indeed who take such a natural delight in rhythm for its own sake, that they can follow with pleasure a learned rhythm which is very rich in variety, and the beauty of which is its perpetual freedom to obey the sense and diction. And this also is true, that some knowledge of the structure, or laws which govern such rhythms is necessary to most persons before they will receive them as melodious ; and they will accept or reject a rhythm to which they are unaccus- tomed, according as they can or cannot perceive, or think they perceive, its structure. This attitude towards beauty of any kind is not the best, but I am not concerned with that, or its cause ; my undertaking, however, in this particular case, is to indulge it, and to put the reader into such a comfortable and assured state of mind with regard to the structure of the verse in Samson, as will enable him to encounter its rhythms with a good con- science. The rhythms themselves I do not intend to discuss, that is, I shall not try to throw light on such questions, as why such a rhythm is beautiful in itself, or why it follows such SAMSON A GO MS 7ES. 33 another. But if I enable the reader to scan the verses, and, if he choose, count and name the metrical units, I may expect that he will then feel himself free to admire the rhythms. If he still cannot do so, that may be my fault or his, but it cannot be Milton's. The present chapter will therefore be an account of the elemental structure of the verse of Samson Agonistes. I shall begin by getting rid of what I believe to be the chief source of misunderstanding. No one has ever found any difficulty in the metre or rhythm of the poems U Allegro and // Penseroso : they are * universally crowned with highest praises,' and are held to be masterpieces of musical writing. In these poems, setting aside their irregular openings, there are two kinds of line, one the eight-syllable line with rising stress (so-called iambic), the other the seven- syllable line with falling stress (so-called trochaic), this latter being exactly like the former with the first syllable omitted. But if we examine a passage from one of these poems, we shall find that there is also a third kind of line, which intermediates between the other two types, and that this is made by the simple device of inverting the first foot of the eight-syllable line ; thus, And oft, | as if | her head | she bowed, Stooping | through a | fleecy | cloud. Oft, on | a plat | of ri|sing ground, I hear | the far | off cur j feu sound, Over | some wide- | watered | shore, Swinging | slow with | sullen | roar. Of these six lines the first and fourth are regular eight-syllable lines with rising stress (' iambic '), and the second, fifth, and sixth are regular seven-syllable lines with falling stress (' trochaic ') ; but the third is an eight-syllable line with the first stress inverted, or falling, and it begins as if it were going to be a seven-syllable line (trochaic) throughout, and it reads equally well (for the two things are identical) as a line of falling stress (trochaic) with E 34 THE VERSE OF a trisyllabic foot (so-called dactyl) in the first place. Its struc- ture is Oft' on | a plat J of ri|sing ground, but by the inversion of the first foot it reads as if it were scanned thus Oft 7 on a | plat of | rising | ground. Such an example as the above offers no difficulty, and it has, as I have said, never given rise to any difference of opinion as to its metrical device ; but it is clear that if there was an optional elision in the first foot, it would not only be possible to take it in these two ways, but impossible to say which was the better explanation. If, for instance, we substitute such a disyllabic as Softly for the words Oft on, thus Softly a plat of rising ground, it is clear that, according as we admit or refuse an elision of the open y before the a, we have a seven-syllable line with falling stress throughout, or an eight-syllable line of rising stress with the first foot inverted ; that is either Softly | a plat | of rijsing ground, or Softly a | plat of | rising | ground. I wish the reader to perceive that a verse in this condition is under no uncertainty of rhythm : there is no doubt how the verse is to be read and stressed, but there are two possible ways of explaining its metrical structure : and it is merely a matter of convenience in classification which one we take. Now this condition occurs in Samson complicated by these further conditions, that the inversions are not confined to the first foot of the line, and the lines are of various lengths : and Milton has purposely used these liberties together, on account of their rhythmical resources, in order to introduce what are called dactylic (that is true trisyllabic verse-) rhythms into his verse, which is all the while composed strictly of disyllabic feet. In such verse as* I have quoted from // Penseroso^ where the SAMSON AGONISTES. 35 eight-syllable and seven-syllable systems are mixed together, it is the method of some metrists to regard all the lines, whether rising or falling, as being composed of the same metrical units, and differing only by the insertion or not of an unaccented initial syllable. This way is very simple, and if rhythmic stress in poetry be regarded as equivalent to accent in musical rhythm, and the metrical units be counted as measured bars or half- bars, it may be used as an explanation. In Chaucer's ten- syllable verse the first syllable is sometimes omitted (just as it is in L Allegro and // Penseroso) as has lately been remarked by the critics, who, as far as I know, do not recognise it in Shakespeare : and those who prefer to look at the matter in this way, will thus explain the odd-syllable verse of Samson. But just in proportion as the line is invaded by inversions, the explanation ceases to be satisfactory, and I shall in this chapter always distinguish falling rhythms ('trochaic') from rising (' iambic ') rhythms with inversions. The distinction is of more importance in analysis than the theoretic likeness. Now in Samson Agonistes, if all the lines of falling rhythm (so-called trochaic, or lines which lack the initial syllable) be recognised and separated from the rest, and there are only 19 in all the 1758, it will be found that the whole of the poem, with those exceptions, is composed in rising rhythm, of regular disyllabic feet (so-called iambs) with free liberty of inversions, and weak places, and ' elisions/ and extrametrical syllables at the end of the line, all such as we found in Paradise Lost. The whole of the 'dactylic' and 'trochaic' effects are got by the placing of the inversions, elisions, etc. ; and where the ' iambic ' system seems entirely to disappear, it is maintained as a fic- titious structure and scansion, not intended to be read, but to be imagined as a time-beat on which the free rhythm is, so to speak, syncopated, as a melody. Firstly, these are the 19 lines in falling rhythm : they are all of them in the choric or lyric verse. (1) Let us | not break | in ujpon him. 1 16. (2) That hejroick | that renowned. 125. 36 THE VERSE OF (3) Or the | sphere of | fortune | raises. 172. (4) 6 that | Torment | should not | be con j fined. 606. (5) To the | body's | wounds and | sores. 607. (6) But must | secret | passage | find. 610. (7) As on | entrails | joints and | limbs. 614. (8) As a | lingering disjease. 618. (9) Like a | stately | ship. 714. (10) And cejlestial | vigour | armed. 1280. (u) Great ajmong the | heathen | round. 1430. (12) In the | camp of | Dan. 1436. (13) While their | hearts were | jocund | and sub|lime. 1668. (14) Like that | self-be] gotten | bird. 1699. (15) In the' A|rabian | woods em|bost. 1700. (16) That no | second | knows nor | third. 1701. (17) All' is | best though | we oft | doubt. 1745. (1 8) What the' un| searchable dis|pose. 1 746. (19) Oft' he | seems to | hide his | face. 1749. Of the above lines 4 and 13 are like Chaucer's nine-syllable lines ; that is, if an initial syllable were added, they would be ordinary ten-syllable ' blank ' verses. In 5 and 12, if contrac- tion were allowed of the words to the and in the^ these two lines could be reckoned as in rising rhythm ; while in 1 5 and 1 8 if the marked 'elisions' be neglected, the lines become regular eight-syllable lines with an inversion of the first foot. But of these number 12 is the only line in which tbe falling (' trochaic ') rhythm can be doubted as the poet's intention. Having dismissed these lines, the whole of the rest of the poem is to be explained as in rising disyllabic (iambic) metres, broken by inversions, etc. And first I will take all the instances of the most peculiar rhythm which is obtained by these inversions, that is when the first two feet of the line are inverted : here are the lines, eleven in number : (20} trreicov^rajbly dark, | total | eclipse. 81. SAMSON AGONISTES. 37 In this verse there is also inversion of the fourth foot. (21) 6r by evasions | thy crime | unco|verst more. 842. (22) irre|sisti|ble Samjson? whom | unarmed. 126. (23) That in|vinci|ble Sam|son, far | renowned. 341. (and compare with these two last (24) Samson | should be j brought forth \ to show J the peo pie) 1605.) (25) tlm|versal|ly crowned | with highjest prai(ses). 175. (26) For his | people | of old ; | what hinjders now. 1533. (27) 6 how | comely | it is, | and how | revi(ving). 1268. (28) To the | spirits | of just | men long | oppressed. 1269. (29) Puts in|vinci|ble might | 1271. (30) And with | blindness | internal struck | 1690. and add to these examples 83 and 89 q.v. I will say about each one of these lines what is to be urged against this view of their metrical construction : but first, in favour of the explanation that they are all instances of inversion of the first two feet, I will give examples of similar rhythm from Paradise Lost and Regained. (31) Universal | reproach, | far worse 1 to bear. P. L. vi. 34. (32) By the | waters | of life, | where'er | they sat. xi. 79. (33) tn the | bosom | of bliss, | and light | of light. R. iv. 597. (34) To the | garden | of bliss, | their seat | prepared. L. viii. 299. (35) After | forty | days fas|ting had | remained. R. ii. 243. (36) Through the | infinite host : | nor less | for that. L. v. 874. (37) Shoots in|visi|ble \h\tue even to | the deep. L. iii. 586. This has, like 20, an inversion also of the fourth foot. And add examples 133 and 147 on pp. 20 and 21 and these less marked lines. (38) Adam, | well may | we lajbour still | to dress, ix. 205. (39) Labour, | as to | debar | us when j we need. 236. (40) Going | into | such danjger as | thou saidst. 1157. Of these ten lines from the epic verse, most of the examples 38 THE VERSE OF are indubitable, and prove that the rhythm is one which we should expect to find ; while the extreme pathos of it in ex. 20, where it is impossible to make any other rhythm, the fact that in 22, 23, and 24 it is used as expressive of the bond-bursting Samson, the absolute necessity for allowing it in 30, and the appearance of it in those weaker examples connected with labour and danger, 38, 39 and 40, all together make a strong case for admitting the explanation to cover all the examples given. But it may have been observed that in three of these 21 lines the words irresistible or invincible occur, and since ' elision ' of the short * is allowed in Samson (see p. 27), it might be sus- pected here as a preferable explanation. And these examples, i. e. 22, 23, and 29, might, if there were no considerations to determine otherwise, be all scanned as odd-syllable lines con- taining elision of the short / ; and thus Ir|resis|tzble Sam|son whom | unarmed. That | invinjcz'ble Samjson far | renowned, would be Chaucerian nine-syllable lines, just like examples 4 and 13 above from the chorus. But this, as I said before, makes no difference to the rhythm : the chief objection to such an explanation is that it does not explain all the lines. It is true that examples 25, 26, 27, 28, 34, 36, and 37, are in the same condition with these other four, for these lines also all contain a possible elision or contraction : but the contraction of univer- s'lly in 25 would be unparalleled, and examples 20, 21, 30, 31, 32, 33 and 35, which are all decided cases, would still be left : so that it is more convenient to group them together as above. But no metrical explanation which does not falsify the rhythm is in itself objectionable ; what is wrong is to read these lines Irrfcoverdbly, Irresistible, That invincible or ctbble, Universally > O how cornel), Puts in-vincible, Universal reproach. Shoots invisible. It would not be worth while to mention such bar- barous distortions, if some of them had not been actually pro- posed and received by scholars. In face of their authority the SAMSON AGONISTES. 39 student may wish to know how Milton uses these words in other places, and looking up in the concordance all the passages where they occur, I find for Irresistible, which seems chosen as a word that enforced its accent, this single line (41) Of union irresistible, moved on. P. L. vi. 63. As for invincible, the word occurs in five other places and begins the line in every one but the following (42) Thy temperance, invincible besides. JR. ii. 408. Universal occurs in twenty-one other places, and always with its ordinary accent, and again seems as if it was chosen because it could not be misread. Invisible occurs in all fourteen times. Its position in eleven of these makes any other than its proper pronunciation impos- sible. One of the remaining three is example 37 above ; the other two are (43) To human sense th' invisible exploits. P. L. v. 565. (44) Things not | revealed, | which th' invisible king. vii. 122. Both these lines are printed with the elision of the in the first edition 1 , which excludes the contraction invisible, and in example 43 gives invisible. No. 44, if it stood alone, would sustain the Chaucerian invisible ; but there is no doubt that an inversion of the fourth foot is here intended to enforce the mystery of the sense. Compare ex. 72, p. 57. Infinite occurs in all twenty-three times. In twenty-one its common accentuation is necessary ; of the other two, one is (45) Infinite wrath, and infinite despair, iv. 74. which contains an inversion of the first foot, as example 36, which is the other case, does of the second. It would be difficult to find words the stress of which is better fitted to secure the inversion of the rhythm, or the usage of which in the poem is better established. I have also in one or two cases pointed out the relation which their rhythmical effect bears to the sense. The meaning in 22 and 23 must strike 1 I use the 'facsimile reproduction' of Elliot Stock, 1877. 40 THE VERSE OF everyone. In examples 32, 33 and 34, it seems to introduce a lyrical wave, the contradiction of which to the epic flow of the verse may suggest a remoteness of beauty very like the idea in the words ; and we have the very same condition of things in ex. 133, p. 20. But, not to say anything which might appear fanciful, I leave this suggestion to the reader, and refer him generally to the chorus on p. 42. The next peculiarity of rhythm which I will take is the twelve- syllable verse, or line with six stresses. These verses occur in the lyrical parts only of Samson : there are some twenty-six in all. It is usually considered that this line (sometimes called an Alexandrine) must have a break or caesura in the middle, be- tween the sixth and seventh syllables. It is best known in this form, and the break is commonly so well marked, that in free unrhymed verse it is indistinguishable from a pair of six-syllable lines. The characteristic of Milton's twelve-syllable line is his neglect of this break, and he makes a verse which has a strong unity in itself, and no tendency to break up. In fact, though he allows himself the same liberty of caesura or break in this as he does in his ten-syllable verse (see p. 23), yet his ' Alex- andrine ' is more coherent, as if it was composed expressly to counteract its tendency to divide into two. And here I should think that there was probably another stumbling-block for readers of Samson, if it were not for the great popularity of Milton's Nativity Ode, where the twelve-syllable lines that close the stanzas are made in the same way, and, with other examples of his early verse, show that he always took the same view of the rhythm of this line. Here are a few well-known lines from the Ode : (46) And leave her dolorous mansions to the peering day. (47) Swindges the scaly horror of his folded tail. (48) The sable-stoled sorcerers bear his worshipt ark. (49) She strikes a universal peace through sea and land. (50) While birds of calm sit brooding on the charmed wave. In Samson about nine of these lines are 6 + 6, with the common break, which is however often weak or disguised : four are 7 + 5 SAMSON AGONISTES. 41 (see ex. 71) : three are 8 + 4 : one {54 + 54-3: one is 54-7: one is 5 + 3 + 4: and seven are continuous lines without any break. These, which are characteristic and show the sweep of the rhythm, are here given : (51) Or groveling, soiled their crested helmets in the dust. 141. (52) To lowest pitch of abject fortune thou art fallen. 169. (53) To death's benumbing opium as my only cure. 630. (54) Left me all helpless with the' irreparable loss. 644. (55) And condemnation of the' ingrateful multitude. 696. (56) Seeming at first all heavenly under virgin veil. 1035. (57) This idol's day hath been to thee no day of rest. 1297. This last line might be taken as an example of 4 + 4 + 4. It should be remarked on these twelve-syllable lines that some of them may be reduced to ten-syllable lines, by reckoning the last two syllables as extrametrical (see p. 7, ex. 2). (58) Made arms ridiculous, useless the forgery. 131. (6 + 6.) (59) Hopeless are all my evils, all remediless. 648. (7 + 5.) (60) So deal not with this once thy glorious cham(pion). (61) The image of thy strength and mighty minister. 706. (6 + 6.) Such an explanation would be quite out of the question if the ten-syllable verse were judged by that of Paradise Lost, though a few lines might seem to support it ; but in Samson Milton has used heavier endings : here are a few, (62) Nothing of all these evils hath befallen me. 374. (63) Samson of all thy sufferings think the heaviest. 445. (64) Private respects must yield with grave authority. 867. (65) Besides how vile, contemptible, ridiculous. 1361. (66) No better way I saw than by importuning. 797. (67) Of brazen shield and spear, the hammered cuirass. 132. (68) My son is rather slaying them : that outcry. 1527. and thus therefore, silence, deliverance, diminution, submission, etc. The lines last quoted, and ex. 60, must all be taken as ten-syllable lines with extrametrical endings, but it is of no F 42 THE VERSE OP consequence how (58) (59) (61) are explained, although they are almost certainly meant for twelve-syllable verses. The reader might now take the opening of the first chorus, and see how the various lines which have been already described are put together, and how the verse, with the exception of the lines given on p. 35, is all resolved into disyllabic rising rhythm. (69) This, this | is he ; | softly | awhile, an eight-syllable line, with third foot inverted ; the sibilants are hushing. (i) Let us | not break | in n|pon him : a perfect four-foot line in falling rhythm (see p. 35). (70) O change | beyond | report, | thought, or | belief! a ten-syllable line, metre reflective : the fourth foot inverted for wonder. (71) See how | he lies | at ran|dom, carejlessly | diffus'd, the first twelve-syllable line in the poem, 7 + 5. In describing great Samson stretched on the bank, it describes itself. (72) With lang|uish'd head | unpropt, a six-syllable line, its shortness is the want of support. (73) As one | past hope, | aban-(don'd), (74) And by | himself | giv*n o-(ver) ; two six-syllable lines, with extrametrical final syllables suggestive of negligence. (75) In sla|vish ha|b*t, ill-nt-|ted weeds an eight-syllable line with elision in third foot: see above, p. 27, ex. 14. (76) O'erworn | and soil'd ; a four-syllable line; its shortness and simple diction are the poverty of the subject. (77) Or do | my eyes | misrepresent ? | Can this j be he, a twelve- syllable line (8 + 4) ; the length of the verse suggests the crowding of new ideas. SAMSON AGONISTES. 43 (2) That he|roick, | that rejnow'ned a seven-syllable line, the rhythm heralding (22) frre|sisti|ble Sam | son? whom, | unarmed, a ten-syllable line, with first two feet inverted, descriptive of Samson's violence. (78) No strength | of man, [ nor fiercest wild j beast, could | with- stand ; a heavy twelve-syllable line, descriptive of Samson's strength. (79) Who tore j the li|on, as | the lijon tears | the kid; same with break disguised. Observe how the first half of the line is more powerful than the second. (80) Ran on | embatjtled arjmies clad | in i(ron) ; a ten-syllable line, with final extrametrical syllable. The ease of the metre after the two alexandrines is Samson's successful rush. (81) And, weajponless | himself, a six-syllable line; its shortness is Samson's nakedness and singlehandedness. (58) Made arms | ridijculous, | useless | the for|ger^ a twelve-syllable line, with fourth foot inverted, and weak ending to each half, descriptive of the failure of the preparations. This will serve for an example. The relation of the form of the verse to the sense is not intended to be taken exactly ; it is a matter of feeling between the two, and is misrepresented by any definition. Poetry would be absurd which was always mimicking the diction or the sense ; but that is a different thing from matter and form being in a live harmonious relation. The above passage happens to be rich in opportunities for descrip- tive rhythm, and it was necessary to the purpose of this chapter to draw attention to Milton's observation of these, because this often explains what has been censured as harsh or careless irre- gularity in the verse. Nor have I much indulged my fancy ; it will have struck many readers that in the line (ex. 75) where F 2 44 THE VERSE OF Milton puts his hero in rags he must have been conscious that he was putting his verse into rags ; for he always rejected such a garment as he here weaves as unworthy of his Muse. Lastly, I will indicate a few examples of the free rhythms which are carried by the regular disyllabic structure. Ex. 15 above reads, In the A|rabian | woods em|bost. (82) Prison within | prfson in (separably | dark. 153, 4. which is made of two six-syllable lines, the first of which has its first and last feet inverted, the second a weak middle foot. (83) But the heart | of the fool | . 298. which is also a six-syllable line, with its first two feet inverted, and may be added to examples 20-30 above, p. 36. (84) With touch ethereal of Heaven's fiery" rod. 549. a ten-syllable line, which reads thus by means of three elisions and one weak place. (85) My | gr/efs not only | pafn me as a | lingering d!s|ease. 617, 8. a six-syllable line, with extrametrical syllable at the end, fol- lowed by a falling seven-syllable line, ex. 8, above. (86) Many are the | savings of the | wfse. 652. which is an eight-syllable line, with its inverted first foot con- taining an elision, and with a weak third foot. (87) Temper'st thy | providence | through his | short course. 670. Thus reads an ordinary ten-syllable line with first and fourth inverted. (88) Therefore God's universal law. 1053. begins a passage of seven short lines every one of which has the first foot inverted, so that the whole reads as verse in falling rhythm, interspersed with ' dactyls.' Drunk with ijdolatry [ drunk with | wine. 1670. This ' dactylic ' verse scans thus Drunk with | idolatry drunk j with wine, SAMSON AGQNISTES. 45 with elision in the third foot, see p. 28. The concordance gives eight references for idolatry^ idolatrous, etc., and the word has always its common accentuation ; but in the two lines quoted from Samson (p. 27, ex. n, 12) the third syllable is elided or contracted. There can be no doubt of this ; but there is a third line, commencing also with two ' dactyls ', (89) By the idolatrous rout amidst their wine. 443, and, given the contraction of idolatroits in the two other places, as Shakespeare has it, But now he's gone, and ray idolatrous fancy. All W.\. i. this would scan most simply with a common inversion of first foot, By the | idolatrous rout | amidst | their wine. But in the first edition it is printed with elision of the, which gives By th' ijdola|trous rout | amidst | their wine, and puts it among the examples of verses which invert the first two feet. I had before supposed that the elision of the was a mistake of the printer or his reader, but this scansion, though further fetched, is more like the rhythm : either is a fiction, and neither contradicts the rhythm. In recognising the fictitious ' dactylic ' character of some of these lines (compare also the three * dactyls ' in ex. 58), the reader must not believe, as he will sometimes find it asserted, that true ( dactylic ' verse, or verse made of true trisyllabic units, was practically unknown in Milton's time. It was quite common : indeed common is the right term for it, because the greater poets thought it beneath their style. Milton was therefore not inventing anything new or unheard, but seeking rather to make a good use of natural English stress rhythms, without falling into their singsong, or setting all his verse to dance. And if it is now clear to the reader by what means he did this, there is nothing left which needs further explanation. Some criticism of Milton's method will be found in Appendix F. APPENDIX A. THE EXTRAMETRICAL SYLLABLE. How does an extrametrical syllable, occurring in the midst of a line, differ from the supernumerary syllable of a common trisyllabic foot ? For instance, how do these lines differ? (1) To quench the drouth of Phoe-(bus) : which as they taste. Ex. 4. (2) To set himself in glo-ry above his peers. Ex. 18, p. 9. The answer is that in the second the extra syllable is made rhythmical by its brevity, in the first it is made rhythmical by there being a pause after it. This rhythmical explanation accounts for the prosody, and for the fact that an extrametrical syllable is often followed by an inversion. The extrametrical syllable proper is of frequent occurrence in Shakespearian dialogue. Where a line is divided between two speakers, the second speaker often disregards the last syllable of the first speaker, and treats it as extrametrical. This was used by Shakespeare among his devices, which increased as he perfected his art, to prevent such a line falling pat, and to avoid the effect of the second speaker having his answer con- ditioned for him by the first ; who being in possession of the line, ceded, as it were, only as much as he chose. Our ear has a romantic and masculine objection to any such appearance of the verse overruling the matter : and the value of a reply is actually impaired, if it seems to be led up to, and prearranged ; and so stichomythia.) as it is called, in which the speaker is bound to fill and not exceed the line, requires the art to be free from all realism whatever ; a condition not often presented by our drama. 48 APPENDIX A. But if a line, which has in the middle of it an extrametrical syllable followed by a pause, pleases the ear, it is plain that this extrametrical syllable will have a way of coming in sometimes when it is not expected, and, in bad writers, where it is not wanted. Also it may not be always easy to determine whether such a syllable is truly extrametrical or not, because there may be all gradations, and even a doubt whether there is a pause intended. Nor does the existence of a grammatical pause always decide the question : the lines in which Milton has made an elision across a stop, are good examples of the rhythmical conditions which lie between the extrametrical syllable proper, and simple elision. See exx. 10, n, 12, on p. 8, and 58, 59, 65, 69, on p. 12. The theory of trisyllabic feet best suits these places : but as a question of Miltonic prosody they are all examples of * elision.' In cases where there is doubt it is better to regard the syllable as extrametrical : the test is this, that if it is extrametrical, it does not signify to the ear whether it is long or short, though it is better for being rather long ; whereas in a trisyllabic foot the quantity of the syllable makes all the difference, for it must be short, and the shorter the better. On the other hand it is not essential that a strong grammatical pause or an inversion should follow an extrametrical syllable in a line, though this is its typical condition : the syllable itself may be introduced to make the verse to pause. The frequent occurrence of these extrametrical syllables in Shakespeare, whose later verse is restless with them, and who may be said to have exceeded the bounds of propriety in this, as in other matters, with perfect felicity, has given rise to mistakes 1 ; for this extra syllable is often confounded with the condition of 1 Any study of Shakespeare's versification must first of all exclude from consideration the plays which he did not write. His work should then be classified in periods or styles, and the classes examined sepa- rately. A collection of instances from all his poetry can lead to no result, because his late verse is written on a different system from his early verse. APPENDIX B. 49 a true trisyllabic foot, and imagined to be a bad attempt at that. Some modern writers have thus used it with a sort of affectation of antique negligence ; though it never has been, nor can ever be more wretchedly abused than it was by the second-rate Elizabethans. APPENDIX B. ON ELISION. Concerning the use of the term Elision in this tract : it has been taken by some that I meant that the elided syllable should be * cut out ' of the pronunciation : but I chose the term, which is in common use, because I wished not to imply any theory of prosody, as to how the supernumerary syllables were to be accounted for in rhythm. I did not think that there could be any doubt as to whether they should be pronounced. That Milton regarded his open vowels as ' elided,' like open vowels in Latin, can hardly be doubted : that is, he intended that they should not count in the scansion: yet though he printed Tk 1 Almighty ', etc., it cannot be supposed that he wished it to be so pronounced 1 . In English the open vowel is always pronounced: but the actual phonetic conditions of open vowels are difficult, and that of vowels separated by 'liquids' is still more so. How- ever slightly we may pronounce the e in The Almighty, it is always heard : but what of the e in wondering and ^wonderous'^ or is that more sounded than the unwritten vowel before the / in warbling ? That Milton recognised the vowel character of the semivowels is certain from his manner of writing words in which they occur : for though such forms as assembFd, resembCst (which should be read resembelst in ex. 10, p. 8), stumbl'd, trembVd, troubVd> trampled, etc., were no doubt so written to avoid the pronunciation assent-bled^ resem-blest, etc., and to 1 On the question of the spelling and printing of the first edition of Paradise Lost, see Appendix E. G 50 APPENDIX B. ensure the pronunciation assembeld, stumbeld, etc. ; yet this does not account for such printings as Imbattld for Imbatteld, ofl rid, and ofind for operid> recKrtst for reckorist, broken ^for broken, etc., in verses where such words have their full syllabic value. And no one can read the first edition of Paradise Lost without seeing how difficult it is to draw a line where theoretic elision, if once admitted for open vowels, should end. The true metrical theory of these syllables must depend not upon their spelling, but upon their speech-condition : I could not thoroughly enter into that, and so I chose a term which should imply nothing, because it could not be taken literally. Milton's practice is somewhat inconsistent or arbitrary, and may be open to various interpretations : I have not observed that it differs much from Chaucer's, and it is common to all our poetry since. As for open vowels, putting other so-called elisions aside, one might say generally that they have a tendency in English to glide one into the other, and that this tendency may be helped or hindered in pronunciation. This quality also varies in different positions of the vowels, according as a close follows an open, or an open a close vowel ; and in the same vowels it is different in different relations of stress. Where they run together most, they are like two vowels which have to be sung to one note in Italian music ; and it is not their fault if our musicians have not equally respected their fluency. On the other hand they often show little tendency to glide ; and it is only where the tendency to glide one into the other is strong but forbidden by the metre, that we get a condition of hiatus that is weak or unpleasant. For the same reason that I chose the term elision I purposely used it both wrongly and inconsistently, as a word of no meaning. In this edition I have corrected some expressions which may have needlessly troubled the reader. I also use the term liquid^ as it is found in old grammars, for the four sounds r, 1, n, and m. These sounds occur in combinations very difficult of exact definition, and their behaviour in English verse is a proper subject for writers on phonetics. APPENDIX C. 51 APPENDIX C. ADJECTIVES IN able. It seemed necessary to prove at length that Milton treated the a in these words as long, and that in the trisyllabic places in which they occur, it is the bl and not the a which is short or * elided/ because he is now often misread by those who are more familiar with the poetry of this century, as a few examples may show. Shelley, who generally follows Milton's use in this particular, has the a short here and there, e. g. (1) The plectrum struck the chords unconquerable. H. Merc. Ixxi. 5. (2) Like earth's own voice lifted unconquerably, hi. ix. 3. 5. (3) The tremulous stars sparkled unfathomably. Witch, xlix. The following are from Rossetti, (4) With sweet confederate music favorable. (5) Their refuse maidenhood abominable. And Rossetti does not stop here ; he has (6) The inmost incense of his sanctuary. (7) This harp still makes my name its voluntary. To such words as these last, /. e. four-syllable words accented on the first, and having a long vowel in the penultimate, Milton always gives their full value, as they are heard in modern American speech : and when they occupy only three places in the verse the last syllable is elided before a vowel. There is one exception, the shortened a in luminary ', vii. 385. Ellis represents Chaucer's able as aabl- or aaffl\ thus (8) And ful plee'zaunt 1 and aa'm/aa'bl* of poorfe. ProL 138. and these words were thus accentuated by Chaucer, Shakespeare and Milton, and down to our time, the a gradually lightening. It seems now a question whether they have so changed their G 2 5 a APPENDIX D. speech-accent, as to justify a departure from tradition in higher poetry, in face of the indisputable permanence of our classical verse. See further remarks in Ap. H. p. 76. APPENDIX D. ON RECESSION OF ACCENT. Recession of accent, which was defined on p. 18, is not now heard. I have been told that it lingers in Ireland in the com- mon speech in which it must have originated, and that Roman Catholics there will still talk of Extreme imction, just as Milton has Extreme shift in Comus : also that they do not say Sir John Robinson, but Sir-John R6binson ; in the fashion in which, I suppose, our names Sinclair, Silliger, and St. John (Sinjun) arose : which tempts me to quote from Milton's sonnets, (i) Thy age like ours, O soul of Sir John Cheek. As regards Shakespeare the industry of Dr. Alexander Schmidt has put this question clear of conjecture. The first article in the appendix to his Shakespeare Lexicon is on the ' Changeable accent of disyllabic adjectives and participles.' His rule is this : that Disyllabic adjectives and participles which are accented on the las^ skiff their accent to their first syllable when occurring before nouns which are accented on the first ; provided that their own last syllable occur in the arsis : i. e. off the verse stress. The only fault to find with this definition * is that it confines 1 It might seem simpler to suppose that these words have their accent determined merely by their place in the verse : but they must of course have acquired their shifting pronunciation before the poet could have relied on their obeying the verse stress ; and if, as seems probable, this came about from the perpetual contact of their final accent with the initial accent of nouns, then their position before the noun is their typical condition. But two things follow, first, that once in this un- stable condition they would shift their accent under less provocation than what first displaced it, and, second, that other disyllables would imitate them. RECESSION OF ACCENT. 53 recession of accent to adjectives and participles, and that it requires the determining (following) word to be a noun, which it is true that it is in all his instances ; but I should be inclined to consider this unessential, and treat the recession as being due entirely to collision of accents. I do not see that it has anything to do with the sense, or with the adjective being in the predicate or not, as implied by Dr. Schmidt's remarks. I will give from his examples enough to convince the reader of the real existence of this practice. (2) He is complete in feature and in mind. Gent. ii. 4. 73. (3) Can pierce a cdmpkte bos(om). Why I desire thee. Meas. i. 3. 3. (4) A maid of grace and cdmplete majesty. L. L. L. i. i. 137. (5) Than all the cdmplete armour that thou wear'st. Rich. 3rd, iv. 4. 189. (6) Though time seem so adverse and means unfit. Alls. v. i. 26. (7) Thy adverse party is thy advocate. Sonn. 35. 10. (8) Therefore my verse to constancy confined. Sonn. 105. 7. (9) Supposed as forfeit to a confined &o