LETTER VIII.
SIR,
I
T has been said by several Persons, especially by Foreigners, that there is no such thing as Measure or Feet, or long and short Syllables in English Words. This Mistake, I believe, is chiefly owing to Vossius, who has advanc'd it in his Treatise De Poematum Cantu, &c. As also, that the French Language is more fit for Heroick Verse than the English. To examine one or both of these Points will be the Subject of this Letter.
That our Language does not abound with Dactyls and Spondees is very true; but that we have Words enough which are perfect Iambick and Trochaick Feet is very certain, and this naturally makes our Verse Iambick.
Divine, Attend, Directs, are as perfect Iambicks as any Latin Words of two Syllables, and so are most of our Monosyllable Nouns with their Particles.
The Lord, The Man, The Rock. Every one must perceive that in all these Words, the last Syllable strikes the Ear more than the first, or, in other Words, the last is longer than the first, which is all that makes an Iambick Latin Foot.
The following Words, People, Substance, Angels, Chearful, and the like, are all Trochaick Feet; for it is easily observ'd, that the first Syllable dwells[page 70] longer on the Ear than the latter.
I wonder that Vossius, who was a Canon of Windsor, did not perceive this in the Metre which he could not but often have heard at Church.
"All People that on Earth do dwell
Sing to the Lord with chearful Voice.
Suppose these two Lines were alter'd thus,
"All ye People that on Earth dwell,
Sing to the Lord with Voice chearful.
Here the natural Sound of the Words People and Chearful is very much alter'd, by their being wrong plac'd; or rather, the Verse is quite destroy'd: But to chuse an Example from Milton.
"And if our Substance be indeed Divine.————
Let this be alter'd,
"And indeed Divine if be our Substance.————
Is not the Verse quite destroy'd by this Alteration? And does it not appear to be so, because Indeed and Divine, which are Iambick Feet, are plac'd as if they were Trochaick, and Substance, which is a Trochaick Foot, is plac'd as if it were an Iambick? But I might have omitted the altering of this Line of Milton's, if I had thought of one in Cowley's Davideis, which is as barbarous as it is possible for the Wit of Man to make a Verse.
"To Divine Nobé directs then his Flight.
Lib. 3. v. 3.
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Nobé, Mr. Cowley says in his Notes, he puts instead of Nob, because that Word seem'd to him to be unheroical. But that is not what I am chiefly to take notice of. Divine and Directs are both Iambicks, but Mr. Cowley has made them both Trochaicks, which makes this Line so terrible to the Ear.
It is plain that Vossius, who came into England when he was pretty much advanc'd in Years, and in all probability convers'd chiefly in Latin or French, knew nothing at all of the Pronunciation of English Words. We have as certainly Feet or Numbers in our Language, as in the Latin; and indeed the Latin seems to me to be rather more arbitrary in this respect than the English. What Reason can be given why ma in manus is short, and ma in manes long? Why is a in amens long, and a in amans short, and the like of other Words too numerous to relate?
That all English Verses are Iambick, appears most plainly by considering Monosyllable Lines. For Example:
"Arms and the Man I sing, who forc'd by Fate.
Here Arms, the, I, who, by, appear to be shorter in their Sound than and, man, sing, forc'd, fate.
Again,
"Breathe soft or loud, and wave your Tops, ye Pines.
In this Line the same Difference is perceiv'd between breathe, or, your, ye; and soft, loud, wave, tops, pines.
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Whence it is evident that these Lines are perfectly Iambick.
The Particle and, as well as some other Monosyllables, may be said to be common, like many Words in Latin; they submit themselves to be alter'd by the Voice in reading, and may be pronounced either long or short: But this is not so in other Words. And here it may be proper to observe, that Milton has a very artful Way of varying his Numbers, by putting a Trochaick Foot at the Beginning of a Verse; and the Reason why he could do it, is, that the Verse is not enough form'd in that place for the Ear to perceive the Want of the proper Measure. The Examples of this kind are very numerous: I will mention but two.
"Angels, for ye behold him, and with Song.
And again,
"Fountains, and ye that warble as ye flow.
Nov. 27. 1736.
I am, Sir, &c.
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