as, "Fly then, inglorious! but thy flight this day Three verses rhyming together form a triplet; "But tyranny has fixed her empire there To check their tender hopes with chilling fear, When verses are written in stanzas, they may rhyme together in couplets, in triplets, alternately, or in any other way, according to the fancy of the poets. A stanza seldom consists of less than four verses: as, "The curfew tolls the knell of parting day; The lowing herd winds slowly o'er the lea: The most common kind of verse used in English poetry, is that which, in imitation of the Greeks and Romans, we called Iambic; it has many varieties, and contains from two to sixteen feet as in the following examples. "He feels an í cy dárt Transfíx his coward heart "Trust nót | in worldly prínces thén In whóm there is no health." "The princely pá|lace óf | the Sún | stood gór|geous tó | behold, On stately pillars build]ed high | of yél|low búr❘nish'd gold." In all these examples the verses are composed of measures of two syllables, of which the latter is accented. This measure, or foot as it is termed, is called an Iambus. A Trochee is a foot of two syllables, of which the former is accented. Verses consisting of such feet, are called Trochaics: they are of different lengths, like Iambics: the following are examples. "Hóllow groáns Súllen moáns." "Rúin seíze thee | rúthless | kíng; "O' ye | Thébans | hére be|hóld him, Hé that sólv'd the | díre enigma Gréat and wise and | góod was | hé." Trochaic verses, as for instance several of the preceding, have a single syllable over and above the feet which are perfect. Another kind of verse is called Anapæstic, and consists of three syllables, of which the last is accented; as, "At the clóse | of the day | when the hám let is still." Sometimes at the beginning of a verse a foot is found consisting of two syllables, both of which are accented; as, "Though Fáte | had fast boúnd | her With Styx | nine times round | her." Dactylic verse is composed of feet of three syllables, of which the first is accented; as, "Soúnd an a lárm to the | sláves of a | týranny, Lét the de|fénder of | fréedom a|ríse.” Poetry abounds in particular modes of speaking, called Figures of Speech: the principal are the following. 1. A simile, which describes the subject by reference to some other, to which it is similar; as, "At last these two stout earls did meet, Like lions of great might. Like lions moved, they laid on load, 2. A metaphor is a simile without any word to denote resemblance; such as, like, as, equal to, &c.; as, "O Lyre divine, what daring spirit Wakes thee now?" Divine, i. e. excellent, equal to divine; wakes, i. e. arouses thy notes. I 3. Alliteration gives a pleasing similarity of sound to words by means of the same letters placed at the beginning or end; as, "The Lord descended from above 4. Hyperbole exaggerates a description, to produce effect; as, "They were swifter than eagles; they were stronger than lions." 5. Personification gives to a thing the properties of an animated being; as, "anting Time toil'd after him in vain." 6. An allegory is a story, which, besides its literal signification, has a further meaning or application which is kept up throughout; as in the parables of Jesus Christ. PUNCTUATION Is the art of dividing a written composition into sentences, or parts of sentences, by points or stops, for the purpose of marking the different pauses, which the sense and an accurate pronunciation require. The Comma represents the shortest pause; the Semicolon a pause double that of the comma; the Colon double that of the semicolon; and the Period double that of the colon. The points are marked in the following man ner: The Comma, The Semicolon; The Colon: The Period. COMMA. The Comma usually separates those parts of a sentence, which, though very closely connected in sense, require a pause between them, as, "I remember, with gratitude, his love and services." "Charles is beloved, esteemed, and respected." Two nouns, connected by a conjunction, have no comma between them; but if three or more be so connected, the comma is necessary; as, "John and Ann are gone;" "Richard, Henry, and Thomas are remaining." SEMICOLON. The Semicolon is used for dividing a compound sentence into two or more parts, not so closely |