Throughout the series of measurements made the accented element was nearly always longer, and in no case did the accent fail to increase the length of the sonant. Ebhardt's suggestion that there are two significant parts in each foot-element, viz., sonant and pause, does not seem good. Although the sonant is much longer when accented, the ratio between the sonant and the following interval is not definite.
An examination of thirty-two stanzas of unrhymed iambic and dactylic (catalectic) tetrameters (cf. Table VII.) shows that the verse pause is always at least one fourth larger than the foot pause. In the unrhymed stanzas the verse pause varies widely, and may be as large as three times the foot pause. A pause longer than the foot pause is absolutely essential to the unity of the verse. All sorts of ratios are presented; evidently the verse pause is not a function of the foot pause.
The next table (Table VIII.) shows a variety of different dynamic shadings in the verse. It is noteworthy that in these nonsense verses the type is uniform throughout the stanza. Representing the intensities by curves similar to those used by the subjects in listening to rhythms, we have the forms shown in Fig. 6 (a).
The general curve is like that in Fig. 6(b).
Fig. 6.
When a special emphasis is prescribed on some particular accent in the verse, the type becomes invariable, not only in each stanza, but for all stanzas of all subjects.
The records show that the accent is produced in a variety of ways. One, for example, gets the accent by a slight increase in intensity, but especially by a pause following the sonant.
TABLE VIII.
THE INTENSITY RELATIONS WITHIN THE TOTAL, UNRHYMED VERSE.