Example III.—Deceptive Glosses.
"The world \ is still \ deceiv'd \ with or\-nament.
In law, \ what plea \ so taint\-ed and \ corrupt,
But, be\-ing sea\-son'd with \ a gra\-cious voice,
Obscures \ the show \ of e\-vil? In \ religiŏn,
What dam \—nĕd er\-ror, but \ some so\-ber brow
Will bless \ it, and \ approve \ it with \ a text,
Hidĭng \ the gross\-ness with \ fair or\-nament?"
Shakspeare: Merch. of Venice, Act iii, Sc. 2.
Example IV.—Praise God.
"Ye head\-long tor\-rents, rap\-id, and \ profound;
Ye soft\-er floods, \ that lead \ the hu\-mid maze
Along \ the vale; \ and thou, \ majes\-tic main,
A se\-cret world \ of won\-ders in \ thyself,
Sound His \ stupen\-dous \ praise; \ whose great\-er voice
Or bids \ you roar, \ or bids \ your roar\-ings fall."
Thomson: Hymn to the Seasons.
Example V.—The Christian Spirit.
"Like him \ the soul, \ thus kin\-dled from \ above,
Spreads wide \ her arms \ of u\-niver\-sal love;
And, still \ enlarg'd \ as she \ receives \ the grace,
Includes \ crĕā\-tion in \ her close \ embrace.
Behold \ a Chris\-tian! and \ without \ the fires
The found\-ĕr ŏf \ that name \ alone \ inspires,
Though all \ accom\-plishment, \ all knowl\-edge meet,
To make \ the shin\-ing prod\-igy \ complete,
Whoev\-er boasts \ that name— \ behold \ a cheat!"
Cowper: Charity; Poems, Vol. i, p. 135.
Example VI.—To London.
"Ten right\-eous would \ have sav'd \ a cit\-y once,
And thou \ hast man\-y right\-eous.—Well \ for thee—
That salt \ preserves \ thee; more \ corrupt\-ed else,
And there\-fore more \ obnox\-ious, at \ this hour,
Than Sod\-om in \ her day \ had pow'r \ to be,
For whom \ God heard \ his Abr'\-ham plead \ in vain."
idem: The Task, Book iii, at the end.
This verse, the iambic pentameter, is the regular English heroic—a stately species, and that in which most of our great poems are composed, whether epic, dramatic, or descriptive. It is well adapted to rhyme, to the composition of sonnets, to the formation of stanzas of several sorts; and yet is, perhaps, the only measure suitable for blank verse—which latter form always demands a subject of some dignity or sublimity.
The Elegiac Stanza, or the form of verse most commonly used by elegists, consists of four heroics rhyming alternately; as,
"Thou knowst \ how trans\-port thrills \ the ten\-der breast,
Where love \ and fan\-cy fix \ their ope\-ning reign;
How na\-ture shines \ in live\-lier col\-ours dress'd,
To bless \ their un\-ion, and \ to grace \ their train."
Shenstone: British Poets, Vol. vii, p. 106.
Iambic verse is seldom continued perfectly pure through a long succession of lines. Among its most frequent diversifications, are the following; and others may perhaps be noticed hereafter:
(1.) The first foot is often varied by a substitutional trochee; as,
"Bacchus, \ that first \ from out \ the pur\-ple grape
Crush'd the \ sweet poi\-son of \ mis-ūs\-ĕd wine,
After \ the Tus\-can mar\-iners \ transform'd,
Coasting \ the Tyr\-rhene shore, \ ăs thĕ \ winds listĕd,
On Cir\-ce's isl\-and fell. \ Who knows \ not Circĕ,
The daugh\-ter of \ the sun? \ whose charm\-ĕd cup
Whoev\-er tast\-ed, lost \ his up\-right shape,
And down\-ward fell \ īntŏ a grov\-elling swine."
Milton: Comus; British Poets, Vol. ii, p. 147.
(2.) By a synæresis of the two short syllables, an anapest may sometimes be employed for an iambus; or a dactyl, for a trochee. This occurs chiefly where one unaccented vowel precedes an other in what we usually regard as separate syllables, and both are clearly heard, though uttered perhaps in so quick succession that both syllables may occupy only half the time of a long one. Some prosodists, however, choose to regard these substitutions as instances of trissyllabic feet
