§ B. Constitution of Feet
Quality or "quantity" in feet.
10. The quality, or contrast of quality, called "quantity," which fits English syllables for their places as long or short in a foot, is not uniform or constant.
Not necessarily "time,"
11. It does not necessarily depend on the amount of time taken to pronounce the syllable; though there is probably a tendency to lengthen or shorten this time according to the prosodic length or shortness required.
nor vowel "quantity."
12. It does not wholly depend on the usual quantity[26] of the vowel sound in the syllable; for long-sounding vowels are not very seldom shortened, and short-sounding ones are constantly made long.
Accumulated consonants,
13. An accumulation of consonants after the vowel will lengthen it prosodically, but need not necessarily do so.
or rhetorical stress,
14. Strong rhetorical stress will almost always lengthen if required.
or place in verse will quantify.
15. The place in verse, if cunningly managed by the poet, will lengthen or shorten.
Commonness of monosyllables.
16. All monosyllables are common, the articles being, however, least susceptible of lengthening, and the indefinite perhaps hardly at all.