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And in his | mantle, muffling up his face 1
| |
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Even at the base of | Pompey's ❘ statue,

(Which | all the while | ran | blood,) |
great Cæsar fell. 1771771

O what a fall

Then I,

Whilst

791

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was there, my countrymen! |

and | you, | and | all of us, I fell | down, | bloody | treason | flourished | over us.

Oh! | now you weep;

you feel, I

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The dint of pity; these are gracious | drops. | ។ ។ | ។ ។

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To such a sudden | flood of | munity. |

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They that have I done this | deed, are honour-
able:

What private | griefs they | have, a- | las!
I know not, |

That made them | do it: they are | wise, I

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I am no orator,

But as you

man, |

as | Brutus is; |

know me | all, a plain | blunt |

That love my friend; and that they know full well |

That gave me | public | leave to speak of him. [ 741441

717.

For I have neither wit, nor words, nor worth, [ ។ ។ |

Action, nor | utterance, nor the power of |

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And bid them | speak | for me. But were I Brutus,

And Brutus | Antony, there were an | An

tony |

Would | ruffle | up your | spirits, and put a |

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The preceding examples, including both poetry and prose, it is thought, will be sufficient to explain the principle embraced in this lesson, entitled the Measure of Speech. The pupil should endeavour, in all his reading exercises, to form the sentences, whether of poetry or prose, into measures, for the purpose of reading with facility and without fatigue. The pauses or rests which occur in the imperfect measures, will afford him an opportunity of taking breath at such intervals, that, in the words of a modern writer, "Reading will cease to be laborious, and the sense will be rendered clear, as far as it is dependent on the capital point of the distribution of time or measure." The principle explained in this lesson, when well understood, and judiciously applied, will make the pupil acquainted with the nature of all the different kinds

of versification; for he will perceive that all the varieties of poetry (or verse) are dependent upon the regular succession of the various measures of speech.*

LESSON XXXVI.

MANNER OF READING POETRY.

In the last Lesson, the attention of the pupil was drawn to the MEASURE OF SPEECH, a subject, which, although it is very important in prose, is doubly so in the reading of poetry or verse, as it determines a question which has long been debated by teachers of the art of Reading, viz. whether a pause should be made at the end of every line.

It is maintained by a very respectable writer, that in reading 'blank verse," "we ought to make every line sensible to the ear; for what" (it is asked by the same writer) "is the use of the melody, or for what end has the poet composed in verse, if, in reading his lines, we suppress his numbers, by omitting the final pause; and degrade them by our pronunciation into mere prose ?"

The remarks made in the previous Lesson are a sufficient reply to this question. It is there stated that all sentences that are or can be read or pronounced, are divisible into measures, and that the only difference there is in sound between prose and verse, is that verse consists of a regular succession of similar measures, while in prose the different kinds of measure occur promiscuously, without any regular succession. Now if this be the case, as it undoubtedly is, there will be no necessity of a pause at the end of the line, to render the melody sensible to the ear. Indeed, it will be impossible for the reader, who pays proper attention to the measures into which all poetical lines are divided, to conceal the melody which the lines possess. The art of the poet, so far as the harmony is concerned, consists in such an arrangement of his measures, as to leave little for the reader to do, in order to convey the melody to the hearer; and those lines which require humouring,' in order that the music of the versification may be distinguished, have little title to the name of poetry.

The only direction, therefore, which it is necessary to give the pupil in reading verse is, to endeavour to forget, or rather, to disregard the division of the sentences into lines, and to read with the same inflections, accent, tone, emphasis, and expression, that he would use in reading prose.

In addition to the remarks which were made in the last Lesson in relation to the pauses caused by imperfect measures of speech, it remains to be observed, that there is

They, who have any curiosity to know the manner in which Garrick pronounced Hamlet's Soliloquy on Death, are referred to Steele's Prosodia Rationalis, p. 40, where it is divided into measures. and accented.

generally a pause, which belongs exclusively to poetry, called the CESURA,* or the Cæsural pause. This pause must always be properly regarded; and in studying a reading lesson in verse, the pupil must be careful to ascertain where this pause belongs. It is generally made after the fourth, fifth, or sixth syllable in the line; but it is sometimes found after the third or the seventh, and occasionally even after the second or the eighth.

In the following lines, the place where the Casura, or the Casural pause is to be made, is indicated by parallel lines ; and in reading them, the pupil will remember to make a slight pause when he comes to the Cæsura.

718.

The Casura after the 4th syllable.

The Saviour comes, || by ancient bards foretold.

719.

The Casura after the 5th syllable.

From storms a shelter, || and from heat a shade..

720.

The Casura after the 6th syllable.
Exalt thy lofty head, || and lift thine eyes.

721.

The Casura after the 3d syllable.
Exploring, till they find their native deep.

722.

The Casura after the 7th syllable.

Within that mystic circle || safety seek.

*The word Cæsura means a cut, or division. An attentive observer will not fail to notice that the beauty and grace of English versification depends much upon the situation of the Cæsura. The poet has it in his power, by diversifying its position, to give his numbers a grateful variety which they would not otherwise possess. Those who would see this subject more fully discussed, will find some valuable remarks in the work of Dr. Carey, entitled “ Practical English Prosody."

723.

The Casura after the 2d syllable.
Happy, without the privilege of will.

724.

The Casura after the 8th syllable.

In different individuals || we find.

In some lines, besides the cæsura, there is also what is called the demi-cæsura, or half cæsura, at which the pause is very slight, as in the following lines, in which the demicæsura is marked with a single accent, and the cæsura with a double accent.

725.

Warms' in the sun" refreshes' in the breeze,
Glows' in the stars" and blossoms' in the trees;
Lives, through all life"; extends' through all extent,
Spreads' undivided," operates' unspent.

[The pupil will recollect that no pause must be made, and especially that the falling inflection of the voice must not be used at the end of the line, unless the sense requires it. In the following extract, the pause with the falling inflection occurs in that part of the line indicated by the grave accent. The extract is from the description of the Deluge in Paradise Lost.]

726.

Meanwhile the south wind ròse, and with black wings
Wide hovering, all the clouds together drove

From under heavèn: the hills, to their supply,

Vapour and exhalation dusk and moist

Sent up amàin and now the thickened sky
Like a dark ceiling stood; down rushed the rain
Impetuous, and continued, till the earth

No more was sèen; the floating vessel swam
Uplifted, and secure with beaked prow
Rode tilting o'er the waves.

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