Rápid clouds have drúnk the lást pale beams of éven:
Awáy! the gathering wínds will cáll the darkness sóon,
And profóundest midnight shróud the seréne lights of héaven.
He concludes with the completely filled-out structure:
Thy remémbrance, and repéntance, and deep músings are not frée
From the músic of two vóices and the light of one sweet smíle.
The lines in his Prometheus beginning:
Ah Síster, Desolátion is a délicate thing,
are also written in this metre, which moreover is sufficiently Protean to form the basis of several of Gilbert’s most attractive songs, such as, “If you’re anxious for to shine in the high æsthetic line as a man of culture rare.” There is no reason why this metre should not be developed into a very expressive and subtle instrument, especially if Blake’s experiment be taken as a starting point. Though it may not have the grandeur of Milton’s blank verse, it has more rapidity and lightness, and is not without a beauty and dignity of its own.
Triple time was seldom employed by the Elizabethans, except in lyrics such as Shakespeare’s: