V. RHYME. 406. RHYME is the recurrence of similar final sounds, the absence of which in measured lines constitutes BLANK VERSE. 407. Rhyme may be single, double, or triple— The black bands come over The Alps and their snow, They pass'd the broad Po. While Mr Marmion, Led a great army on.-BYRON. 408. Rhyme may be perfect, imperfect, and falsePerfect. I come, I come, ye have called me long; I come with the voice of joy and song.-HEMANS. Imperfect. The song began-from Jove, Who left his blissful seats above.-DRYDEN. False. Thus Pegasus, a nearer way to take, May boldly deviate from the common track.-POPE. 409. A COUPLET is formed by the rhyming of two lines, and a TRIPLET by the rhyming of three Soon as the evening shades prevail, The moon takes up the wondrous tale.-ADDISON. On Linden, when the sun was low, All bloodless lay th' untrodden snow, And dark as winter was the flou.-CAMPBELL. 410. A STANZA consists of four or more lines. 1. The most usual is the ballad or hymn stanza, having the odd lines of four iambics, and the even ones of three O happy is the man | who hears And who celestial wisdom makes II. The elegiac stanza has four lines of heroic verse alternately rhyming, as in Gray's 'Elegy’— Perhaps in this neglected spot is laid Some heart once pregnant with celestial fire, III. The Spenserian has eight lines of heroic and a final one Alexandrine; the first and third, second and fourth, fifth and seventh, sixth and eighth, rhyming respectively, while the ninth has the same rhyme with the eighth. It was used by Spenser, has been extensively imitated by Beattie and Thomson, and brought to perfection by Byron By this the northern wagoner had set His sevenfold team behind the steadfast star, But firm is fixed, and sendeth light from far Full envious that night so long his room did fill.—SPENSER. IV. There is also a very pretty anapaestic stanza of five lines used in Alonzo the Brave' and in 'Mary the Maid of the Inn' A warrior so bold, and a virgin so bright, Conversed as they sat on the green; They gazed on each other with tender delight; The maid's was the Fair Imogine.-G. P. LEWIS. 411. Besides these, there are many other forms of verse used by Byron, Campbell, Hemans, Moore, Southey, Bryant, Sigourney, Longfellow, N. P. Willis, L. É. L., 'Delta,” and others. See also some beautiful translations from Schiller in Blackwood's Magazine for September and October 1842. COMPOSITION OR STYLE. Under this head it is proposed briefly to instruct the student in some of those essentials to good writing, which cannot be reduced to such certain and arbitrary rules as those laid down under the head of Grammar. 412. The first and most indispensable requisite in composition is correct grammatical construction, any departure from which is termed a solecism. 413. The higher excellences of style are chiefly clearness, energy, harmony, and beauty. 414. By clearness is meant that the sense should be perfectly obvious. In an abstruse disquisition, it may be impossible for ordinary readers to comprehend the ideas conveyed without reperusal; but where there is nothing difficult in the matter of a composition, there is no excuse for putting on paper a sentence that requires to be read twice over in order to be understood. 415. By energy is to be understood that ideas are conveyed not only clearly, so as to be obvious to every attentive reader, but vividly and impressively, so as to command attention. Considerable latitude is permitted here; superior energy should be reserved for occasions demanding it. It is unwise to use strong expressions, or a highly effective arrangement, when the matter conveyed is familiar, trivial, or subsidiary. 416. By harmonious writing is meant that which is agreeable to the ear. Here, also, discretion is necessary. The matter of some compositions demands great smoothness; to others, a little more abruptness is appropriate. Long words and long sentences are more musical than short ones; but energy, where called for by the subject, must not be sacrificed to harmony. A full well-rounded period is pleasing to the ear; but a composition becomes monotonous and tiresome when every sentence is sonorously rounded at the close. 417. By beauty of style, we intend to express that which depends on the judicious use of the ornaments of writing; as antithesis, climax, exclamation, interrogation, and figures of speech. Language is the dress of thought; and as in that of the person, it is first and chiefly desirable that it be appropriate to the subject and the occasion; neither redundant on the one hand, nor too scanty on the other; neatly put together, and firmly put on; free from tawdry finery, but not excluding, on fitting occasions, the moderate display of handsome flowers and sparkling jewels. The student is invited to begin with what is most essential-the judicious choice of language, and a clear, concise, and sufficiently compact mode of arrangement; afterwards to proceed gradually to the study of those particulars which are more matters of taste, and admit of wider discretionary power. I. LEGITIMATE WORDS. The propriety of a word must be tested by reputable, national, and present use. The use of none but legitimate words and phrases constitutes the chief part of what is usually termed purity of style. 418. Reputable use is the employment of a word by authors of established reputation—such as Dryden, Addison, Swift, Pope, Johnson, Gibbon, Byron, Southey, Campbell, Dickens, Macaulay, and others of similar standing. When it can be proved that several of such writers have employed a certain word in serious composition, that word is held as sanctioned; it has received the stamp of authority, and may be safely adopted by the young composer. A single writer, however eminent, cannot be considered as decisive authority. 419. National use is opposed to provincial and foreign. Every province in the empire has its peculiar and local terms, or peculiar and local meanings attached to good national words. Both are avoided by well-educated people. On the other hand, there is pedantry and affectation in using foreign words and phrases unnecessarily-that is, when the same thing may be as clearly expressed in English ones. 420. Present use is opposed to obsolete on the one hand, and novel on the other. In science and art, terms may become antiquated in the course of a few years. Hence, present use in technicalities must be bounded by the practice of living men. In general literature, as history, travels, moral essays, &c., it is not safe to use any word which has been unemployed within the last half century. Poetry admits words which would be counted obsolete in prose. Byron has used Spenserian words in Childe Harold; but, as a general rule, any word peculiar to authors earlier than Milton cannot safely be revived. New words may be readily adopted when used by eminent scientific writers, because discoveries are daily made, for which terms must be invented, or at least applied in a new sense; but in general literature it is not the case, and the student should guard against the capricious fancies of certain writers, who are perpetually aiming, by singularity of style, to produce an effect which they cannot attain by originality of thought. II. PHRASEOLOGY. 421. Phraseology, or the idiomatic connection of words, cannot be reduced to rule, and must be acquired by familiarity with the usage of good authors. The following table exhibits some of the best examples : SHAKSPEARE (born 1564, died 1616).-Poetry. Abandon society, cherish rebellion, lack abilities, abridge life, spy out abuses, make high account of, urge against one, to taint honour, enter an action, content the eye, pluck a flower, take advantage of, gather herbs, solemnise a day, swear allegiance, stand aloof, to clear ambiguities, fling away ambition, accept a title, bereave of life, draw the bow, make a conquest, raise a siege, lay blame upon, requite gentleness, sit on horseback, make fast the doors, scale the bulwarks, make a match, render thanks, take one's choice, erect walls, split the ears, bring reports, sink with doubt, shake with fear, sick at heart, talk of fear, keep from rest, hew down a bough, laugh to scorn, tend a flock, take rest, make speed, jest at scars, shew teeth, hear music, pursue a course, bear malice, resist law, make a will. MILTON (1608-1674).—Poetry. Regain seat, invoke aid, transgress will, raise war, hurl headlong, dwell in chains, throw eyes round, the thought torments, view a situation, discover sight, prepare a place, break silence, shake a throne, sue for grace, wage war, put to proof, suffer pain, do service, do errands, undergo punishment, pervert end, find means, disturb counsels, spend shafts, repair loss, offend an enemy, overcome calamity, gain reinforcement, swim a stream, heave head, steer flight, expanded wings, felt weight, to light on land, resume courage, hear a voice, descry lands, support steps, strew the brooks, choose a place, find ease, discern the advantage, perceive the plight, darken the land, direct course, sit on a throne, wander o'er the earth, get a name, seek prey, to profane rites, pass through fire, to build a temple, pay vows, lament fate, burn offerings, adore gods. DRYDEN (1631-1700).-Poetry. Procure access, acknowledge assistance, break a vow, loth to confess, unable to conceal, bend the bow, play tricks, conceive a crime, contract danger, flatter vice, give testimony to virtue, accommodate style to subject, perform tricks, admit a ray, prayers made and granted, drag his legs, merit the name, receive the good, expel the bad, prepare a hammer for the stroke, roses hold their sweetness, raisins keep their taste, impute to necessity, shew activity, strike the ground, find a passage, receive a wound, break bones, wave a torch, provide forage, ply the tongue, wag the tail. |