SECTION III.—OF POETIC FEET.

A verse, or line of poetry., consists of successive combinations of syllables, called feet. A poetic foot, in English, consists either of two or of three syllables, as in the following examples:

1. "C=an t=y | -r~ants b=ut | b~y t=y | -r~ants c=on | -qu~ered
b=e?"—Byron.

3. "And th~e br=eath | ~of th~e D=e | -~it~y c=ir | -cl~ed th~e
ro=om."—Hunt.

4. "H=ail t~o th~e | chi=ef wh~o ~in | tr=i~umph ~ad |-v=anc~es!"—Scott.

EXPLANATIONS AND DEFINITIONS.

Poetic feet being arbitrary combinations, contrived merely for the measuring of verses, and the ready ascertainment of the syllables that suit each rhythm, there is among prosodists a perplexing diversity of opinion, as to the number which we ought to recognize in our language. Some will have only two or three; others, four; others, eight; others, twelve. The dozen are all that can be made of two syllables and of three. Latinists sometimes make feet of four syllables, and admit sixteen more of these, acknowledging and naming twenty-eight in all. The principal English feet are the Iambus, the Trochee, the Anapest, and the Dactyl.

1. The Iambus, or Iamb, is a poetic foot consisting of a short syllable and a long one; as, b~etr=ay, c~onf=ess, d~em=and, ~intent, d~egr=ee.

2. The Trochee, or Choree, is a poetic foot consisting of a long syllable and a short one; as, h=atef~ul, p=ett~ish, l=eg~al, m=eas~ure, h=ol~y.

3. The Anapest is a poetic foot consisting of two short syllables and one long one; as, c~ontr~av=ene, ~acqu~i=esce, ~imp~ort=une.

4. The Dactyl is a poetic foot consisting of one long syllable and two short ones; as, l=ab~our~er, p=oss~ibl~e, w=ond~erf~ul.

These are our principal feet, not only because they are oftenest used, but because each kind, with little or no mixture, forms a distinct order of numbers, having a peculiar rhythm. Of verse, or poetic measure, we have, accordingly, four principal kinds, or orders; namely, Iambic, Trochaic, Anapestic, and Dactylic; as in the four lines cited above.

The more pure these several kinds are preserved, the more exact and complete is the chime of the verse. But exactness being difficult, and its sameness sometimes irksome, the poets generally indulge some variety; not so much, however, as to confound the drift of the rhythmical pulsations: or, if ever these be not made obvious to the reader, there is a grave fault in the versification.

The secondary feet, if admitted at all, are to be admitted only, or chiefly, as occasional diversifications. Of this class of feet, many grammarians adopt four; but they lack agreement about the selection. Brightland took the Spondee, the Pyrrhic, the Moloss, and the Tribrach. To these, some now add the other four; namely, the Amphibrach, the Amphimac, the Bacchy, and the Antibacchy.

Few, if any, of these feet are really necessary to a sufficient explanation of English verse; and the adopting of so many is liable to the great objection, that we thereby produce different modes of measuring the same lines. But, by naming them all, we avoid the difficulty of selecting the most important; and it is proper that the student should know the import of all these prosodical terms.

5. A Spondee is a poetic foot consisting of two long syllables; as, c=old n=ight, p=o=or s=ouls, ~am~en, shr=ovet=ide.

6. A Pyrrhic is a poetic foot consisting of two short syllables; as, presumpt-|~uo~us, perpet-|~u~al, unhap-|p~il~y, inglo-|r~io~us.

7. A Moloss is a poetic foot consisting of three long syllables; as, De~ath's p=ale h=orse,—gre=at wh=ite thr=one,—d=eep d=amp v=a=ult.

8. A Tribrach is a poetic foot consisting of three short syllables; as, prohib-|~it~or~y, unnat-|~ur~all~y, author-|~it~at~ive, innum-|~er~abl~e.

9. An Amphibrach is a poetic foot of three syllables, having both sides short, the middle long; as, ~impr=ud~ent, c~ons=id~er, tr~ansp=ort~ed.

10. An Amphimac, Amphimacer, or Cretic, is a poetic foot of three syllables, having both sides long, the middle short; as, w~ind~ingsh=eet, l=ife-~est=ate, s=oul-d~is~eased.

11. A Bacchy is a poetic foot consisting of one short syllable and two long ones; as, th=e wh=ole w~orld,—~a gre=at v=ase,—=of p=ure g=old.

12. An Antibacchy, or Hypobacchy, is a poetic foot consisting of two long syllables and a short one; as, kn=ight-s=erv~ice, gl=obe-d=ais~y, gr=ape-flow~er, g=old-b=eat~er.

Among the variegations of verse, one emphatic syllable is sometimes counted for a foot. "When a single syllable is [thus] taken by itself, it is called a Cæsura, which is commonly a long syllable." [499]

FOR EXAMPLE:—