The Principles of English Versification | Page 4

be (´´= twice as
much emphasis as ´;´´´ = three times as much):
´´-´-´´´-´´-´´´-etc.
and this could not be called regular. A simple illustration of this is the
difference in music between 3/4 time, where we count 1´ 2 3, 1´ 2 3,
1´ 2 3 and 6/4 or 6/8 time, where we count 1´´ 2 3 4´ 5 6, 1´´
2 3 4´ 5 6. Furthermore, apart from any question of force or energy
applied in the production of a sound, it is clear that high notes seem to
possess a greater strength than low notes, and must therefore be
recognized as an element in rhythmic emphasis. For example, if the
following series of notes were sounded on a piano, and each struck with
equal force--
[Illustration: Musical notes--A E A E A E] etc.
a certain 'accent' would probably be felt on the e which was not felt on
the a. And it is well known that shrill sounds and high-pitched voices
carry farther and seem louder than others.
In the simplest kind of temporal rhythm, therefore, where the beats are,
say, drum-taps of equal force, the primary element is time. But if there
is the added complication of drum-taps of unequal force, the element of
comparative stress must be reckoned with. And if, finally, the
drum-taps are not in the same key (say, on kettledrums differently
tuned), then the further element of comparative pitch must be
considered as a possible point of emphasis. In a word, pitch may
sometimes be substituted for stress.
In music rhythmic units may be marked by differences in tone-quality
as well, and thus the potential complexity is greatly increased; but in

spoken language, as has been said, this element of rhythm is negligible.
In speech-rhythm, however, the three conditions of time, stress, and
pitch are always present, and therefore no consideration of either prose
rhythm or verse can hope to be complete or adequate which neglects
any one of them or the possibilities of their permutations and
combinations. And it is precisely here that many treatments of the
rhythm of language have revealed their weakness: they have excluded
pitch usually, and often either stress or time. They have tried to build
up a whole system of prosody sometimes on a foundation of stress
alone, sometimes of time alone. The reason for this failure is simple,
and it is also a warning. Any attempt to reckon with these three forces,
each of which is extremely variable, not only among different
individuals but in the same person at different times--any attempt to
analyze these elements and observe, as well, their mutual influences
and combined effects, is bound to result in a complication of details
that almost defies expression or comprehension. The danger is as great
as the difficulty. But nothing can ever be gained by the sort of
simplification which disregards existent and relevant facts. It is to be
confessed at once, however, that one cannot hope to answer in any
really adequate way all or even most of the questions that arise. The
best that can be expected is a thorough recognition of the complexity,
together with some recognition of the component difficulties.
Moreover, only a part of the problem has been stated thus far. Not only
is all spoken language the resultant of the subjectively variable forces
of time, stress, and pitch, but these three forces are themselves subject
to and intimately affected by the thought and emotion which they
express. Though educated persons probably receive the phenomena of
language more frequently through the eye than through the ear, it is true
that words are, in the first instance, sounds, of which the printed or
written marks are but conventional symbols. And these symbols and
the sounds which they represent have other values also, logical or
intellectual and emotional values. Language is therefore a compound
instrument of both sound and meaning, and speech-rhythm, in its fullest
sense, is the composite resultant of the attributes of sound (duration,
intensity, and pitch) modified by the logical and emotional content of
the words and phrases which they represent.

For example, utter the words: "A house is my fire," and observe the
comparative duration of time in the pronunciation of each word, the
comparative stress, and the relative pitch (e. g. of a and fire). Now
rearrange these nearly meaningless syllables: "My house is afire."
Observe the differences, some slight and some well marked, in time,
stress, and pitch. Then consider the different emotional coloring this
sentence might have and the different results on time, stress, and pitch
in utterance, if, say, the house contains all that you hold most precious
and there is no chance of rescue; or if, on the other hand, the house is
worthless and you are glad to see it destroyed. And even