Welcom, thou worthy Partner of my Lawrels!
Thou Brother of my Choice! a Band more sacred
Than Nature's brittle Tye. By holy Friendship!
Glory and Fame stood still for thy Arrival,
My Soul seem'd wanting of its better Half,
And languish'd for thy Absence, like a Prophet,
Who waits the Inspiration of his God.Rowe.
Void of all Succour and needful Comfort,
wants a Syllable; for, being accented on the last save one, it ought to have 11, as all the Verses, but two, of the preceeding Example have: But if we transpose the Words thus,
Of Succour and all needful Comfort void,
it then wants nothing of its due Measure, because it is accented on the last Syllable.
SECT. I.
Of the several Sorts of Verses; and first of those of ten Syllables. Of the due Observation of the Accent; and of the Pause.
Our Poetry admits for the most part but of three sorts of Verses; that is to say, of Verses of 10, 8, or 7 Syllables: Those of 4, 6, 9, 11, 12, and 14, are generally imploy'd in Masks and Operas, and in the Stanzas of Lyrick and Pindarick Odes, and we have few intire Poems compos'd in any of those sorts of Verses. Those of 12, and of 14 Syllables, are frequently inserted in our Poems in Heroick Verse, and when rightly made use of, carry a peculiar Grace with them. See the next Section towards the end.