EXAMPLES OF METRE.

The last syllable of a line may make as good metre

as the last words of a line, such as :

The second last syllable of the line may be used to make metre with the next.

Thus:

The third last syllable may be used as metre by accent or emphasis more than sound :—

SCANNING.

Lines are divided into feet,

And when each line is quite complete
"Tis said to have been scanned;
Each foot's divided-measured so
And syllabled-to let you know
It has been rightly planned.

To measure the feet and put the accent on the proper syllables is called scanning. Every foot requires two or three syllables. Certain feet have the accent on the first syllable, others on the second, while some require it on the third. For example, the following verse or stanza, consists of four feet in the first and third lines, and three feet in the second and fourth, with the accent on the second syllable of each foot.

"How doth the little bus-y bee
Im-prove each shin-ing hour,
And gathers hon-ey all-the day
From ev'ry op―ning flow'r."

You will obviously see that the second syllable of each foot requires more stress or emphasis than the first; but although this is done in measuring and dividing the words in order to make correct verse, it must be carefully avoided in reading the verse, otherwise the beauty of it will be marred.

A stanza may consist of four, eight, or more lines. Each line may consist of two, three, four, or five, and occasionally six or seven feet. When a foot contains

three syllables, the accent generally falls on the third syllable, thus

(Four feet in the line, three syllables in each foot).

"'Tis the voice of the slug―gard I heard him complain,

You have waked-me too soon-I must slum-ber a-gain,

Like the door-on its hin-ges so he-on his bed, Turns his sides—and his shoulders and his-heavy head."

A foot seldom consists of one syllable, but when it does occur it is at the commencement of the line, thus

(Four feet in each line).

"Dark-the wave-and dark-the cloud,
Yet-thy bark—is on— -the sea;
Say-fare-well-to other friends,
Do-not say-fare-well- to me."

L. E. L.

The same line may have feet consisting of two and three syllables. When this occurs the foot with two syllables in it is generally found to be the first foot in each line, thus

"No night is so dark-but it breaks-into day,
No voy-age that has not an end-to its way;
The flag-of St. George-is hung proud-at the mast,
The Bon-aventure—is re-turn-ing at last."

L. E. L.

M. How many feet-are in-a line?
Ch. Why some-times there are four.
M. There may be three-four, five, or six,
-y sel-dom more.

But ver

M. Feet have-how many syllables?
Ch. They may have two or three,
Or even one-that one's-in front,
As you-have shown-to me.

The preceding two verses are the simplest, easiest, and most common style to begin with. The first and third lines contain four feet, or eight syllables, and require no metre. The second and fourth lines contain three feet each or six syllables, and the last syllable of the fourth line requires to agree in sound with the second line, in order to make metre. The first two lines require no effort to produce them, for they may contain any thought that suggests itself, but the last two must contain a syllable at the end, to chime in with the last syllable of the second: several ideas may suggest themselves, accompanied with difficulty in trying to produce an appropriate line, as a continuation of the verse that will at the same time make metre. In order to show how it is produced, a course of reasoning and planning like the following must go on in the beginner's mind, forming a pleasing though puzzling sort of exercise. To those who, like myself, have no poetic ideas, verse may be made out of prose, thus; take for example this sentence:

EXAMPLES OF PROSE INTO VERSE.

PROSE.

My brother James brought a bouquet of beautiful flowers to scent my sick room.

This bouquet of most beauteous flowers,

James kindly brought to me,

Wafts fragrance o'er my sitting-room,
Refreshing gratefully.

Four feet and three alternately in each line, two syllables in each foot.

166

THIS BOUQUET OF MOST BEAUTEOUS FLOWERS was obtained thus. I must say something about a bouquet of flowers. I can't say, "This bouquet of beautiful flowers." Why not? “This bou-” is one foot, "quet of-" is another foot, "most beau-" is another foot, and I only require other two syllables to make a fourth foot; tiful flowers" is too long; can I not get a word of two syllables instead of beautiful? I see the accent must be on the first syllable. Well, I'll try some other adjectives that have the same meaning-lovely, charming, pretty, beauteous. Then all these words are tried and beauteous is selected. Another person might have preferred lovely, another charming. "JAMES KINDLY BROUGHT TO ME." I wish to tell who brought them. "James brought them" is too short, the line requires another foot. "Kindly" is introduced to fill it up.