INDUCTIVE STUDIES. I. VERGILIAN VERSE. 1. THE PRINCIPLES OF RHYTHM AND THE STRUCTURE OF THE DACTYLIC HEXAMETER. 1. Pronounce the following English lines, emphasizing the accented syllables: This is the for ́est prime'val. The murmuring | pines' and the | hem'locks, Beard ́ed with moss', and in | garments | green', indistinct' in the twilight, Stand ́ like | Dru ́ids of | eld', with | voi'ces | sad' and pro|phet ́ic, Stand' like harp'ers | hoar', with | beards' that | rest' on their | bo'soms. Loud' from its | rock'y | cav'erns, the | deep'-voiced | neighboring | o'cean Speaks', and in ac ́cents dis con'solate | an'swers the | wail' of the | for ́est. OBSERVE: 1. That each of the above lines is divided into regularly recurring cadences, or sound-waves, each containing an accented and an unaccented part. 2. That, in order to produce this rhythmical effect, it is only necessary to pronounce the words of the verse, each with its proper accent. It will be found by further comparison that the rhythm of English verse depends upon the proper accent of the words in the verse. Pronounce now, in the same manner as above, the following Latin lines: I. 1. Ar'mă vi'rūm'què că¦no', || Trōjiae' qui | pri ́mŭs ǎb | ō'ris 2. Itǎlī ām, fā tō profu gūs, La vinăquě | vēnīt 3. Lītără, | mült(um) ill(e) et terris iactatus et | āltō 4. Vi supě rūm, sae vae měmo|rēm Iū│nōnĭs õb | īrăm, 5. Multă quo qu(e) ēt bēl lō pās sūs, dūm | cōndĕrět | ūrběm, 6. Infēr|rētquè dè¦ōs Lătĭō, gĕnús | ūndě Lă|tīnăm 7. Albānīquè pătrēs āt qu(e) altae | moeniă | Rōmae. OBSERVE 3. That the rhythmical effect produced by these verses is the same as that produced by the English verses above. 4. That, in order to produce this rhythmical effect in the Latin verses, it is necessary to accent many of the words on the wrong syllable. It is therefore apparent that the rhythm of Latin verse does not, as does that of the English, depend upon the proper accent of the words. But OBSERVE 5. That the accented part of each cadence is a long syllable, and that the unaccented part is either two short syllables or their equivalent in time, one long syllable. It is therefore apparent that the rhythm of Latin verse depends upon the quantity of the syllables composing the verse. It thus becomes necessary for the student to learn the quantity of the syllables of a line before he is able to read the line rhythmically (i. e. to scan it). Below will be given material from which the principles of quantity may be derived. Meanwhile notice The Structure of Vergil's Verse. 2. OBSERVE: 6. That each line is composed of six cadences, feet, or measures; and that the feet are composed of either a long and two short syllables (a dactyl), or two long syllables (a spondee). 7. That the dactyl is the most prominent foot, that is, it determines the position of the stress in the different feet of the line. From these two facts - the number of feet and the controlling dactyl- the verse in which Vergil writes is called Dactylic Hexameter. 8. That the sixth foot of each line is composed of two syllables, either two long, or a long and a short syllable (a trochee). 9. That the fifth foot in a line is almost invariably a dactyl. But observe that in the following lines the fifth foot is a spondee: I. 617; II. 68; III. 12, 74, 517, 549; V. 320, 761. From this unusual circumstance, these lines are called spondaic lines. 10. That the first, second, third, and fourth feet are either dactyls or spondees. 11. That line 1 is rhetorically broken after cano, and that this rhetorical pause falls within the foot. This is called the caesural pause, and should be marked by a longer pause in reading than elsewhere in the line. 12. That in nearly every line such a pause occurs, and that in many, as in line 2, after Italiam and profugus, there are two such pauses. In a 13. That this pause most frequently comes after the accented part of the foot. This, having the strongest effect possible, is called the masculine caesura. few instances (as I. 81), the rhetorical pause falls between the two short syllables of the foot, and is called feminine caesura, from its weaker effect. By careful observation from many lines, learn in what foot the caesura most frequently falls. 2. In RECAPITULATION. 1. What is the principle of rhythm in English verse? Latin verse? 3. The structure of Vergil's verse? its name? 4. Caesura, masculine and feminine? 5. In what foot generally found? NOTE TO THE STUDENT. Master carefully the principles to be deduced below, and put them into practice by attempting to scan Latin verse at once. Do not wait until you have mastered all, but use the principles as you learn them. Get the swing of the Hexameter by reading over and over again the English and Latin verses in 1. |