Here e in opera ought not to be apostrophized, for such a contraction reduces an Amphibrachic foot to an Iambic. The words prayers, seven and heaven need not the apostrophe of e; for it makes no difference in the pronunciation. But the contraction of over and betwixt is necessary; for without it the measure would be imperfect.
PAUSES.
Having explained the several kinds of feet, and shown in what places of a verse they may be used, I proceed to another important article, the pauses. Of these there are two kinds, the cesural pause, which divides the line into two equal or unequal parts; and the final pause which closes the verse. These pauses are called musical, because their sole end is the melody of verse.
The pauses which mark the sense, and for this reason are denominated sentential, are the same in verse as in prose. They are marked by the usual stops, a comma, a semicolon, a colon, or a period, as the sense requires, and need no particular explanation.
The cesural pause is not essential to verse, for the shorter kinds of measure are without it; but it improves both the melody and the harmony.
Melody in music is derived from a succession of sounds; harmony from different sounds in concord. A single voice can produce melody; a union of voices is necessary to form harmony. In this sense harmony cannot be applied to verse, because poetry is recited by a single voice. But harmony may be used in a figurative sense, to express the effect produced by observing the proportion which the members of verse bear to each other.[125]
The cesural pause may be placed in any part of the verse; but has the finest effect upon the melody, when placed after the second or third foot, or in the middle of the third. After the second:
"In what retreat, inglorious and unknown,
Did genius sleep, when dulness seized the throne."
After the third: