(2) Natural
Fōllŏw thȳ făir sūn, ŭnhāppy̆ shādŏw!
Thŏugh thōu | bĕ blāck ăs nīght,
And she | made all | of light,
Yet fol|low thy | fair sun,| unhap|py shadow!
Break now,| my heart, | and die! | O no, | she may | relent—
Let my | despair | prevail! O stay, | hope is | not spent.
Should she | now fix | one smile | on thee, | where were | despair?
The loss | is but ea|sy which smiles | can repair;
A stran|ger would please | thee, if she | were as fair.
The student should require little assistance here, odd as some of the rhythms may seem. But "Rose-cheeked Laura" ought to be trochaically scanned, and will then be naturally "English." Nothing can make the "English elegiac" harmonious. Note that line 3 of "Break now" may be anapæstic like 4 and 5:
Shŏuld shĕ nōw | fĭx ŏne smīle, etc.[42]
XXIV. Early Continuous Anapæsts
(a) Tusser (1st ed. 1557; complete, 1573):
Now leeks | are in sea|son for pot|tage full good,
And spar|eth the milch | cow and purg|eth the blood:
These hav|ing with pea|son for pot|tage in Lent,
Thou spar|est both oat|meal and bread | to be spent.
(Perfectly good, though not very euphonious.)
(b) Gifford, H. (1580):