TENNYSON'S RHYTHMS. Pro ran EDITOR or ran " Sezeravors."1
Sm,—The alternative scansions suggested by Mr. Haines for the " Gareth " line-
" Phosphar 1 is than I Orn :LIC's His 1 perils"—
lack melody. The initial trochee would destroy iambic movement, and the anapaest and tribrach would be accented ,—" -dies Iles- " and " Meridi- " respectively (cf. Goodwin, Gk. Gr. § 1857). Now read each foot as a word, with distinct pause at the foot-bar :— " Phosphor. us then. Merl. dies His. penis " (or " Meridi- "). This is intolerable, especially with the anapaest in the penultimate foot, and broken in halves. The effect is different with the anapaest in the first foot and virtually unbroken, as in the compound word "Morning-star" in the translation — Morning.Ster 1 and Ne.1 on 8nn1 and Es" ; Ding Stir" (" Gareth," 1. 719). I suggest that Tennyson in this place read (a) " Phu:Writs "— dissyllable; (b) " AWL-dies." The latter is, I think, in accord. *nee with popular pronunciation; we say " Fee-ona." " labee- ola," "gladee-olus "; in the North (of Ireland) an iujured finger " beemle " or " beets " (i.g. festers); it sloes not be-el. That is Is say, we English cannot accent a abort" i "before a vowel—the "i" becomes long under influence of the accent. This line would then
SCRII-
" Pbesph•res 1 then Her) idf 1 -es Hes 1 .peris "— giving two caesuras and a metrically perfect line at the expense of slurring "o " before " r "—a semi-vowel—and strengthening the secondary accent; in fact, making "Phosphorus" a spondee.
Tennyson's ear for rhythm is not, however, infallible. 1n Um aleaie stanzas, "To Milton," note the improvement in rhythm gained by substituting any of the other trisyllable endings for "ocean isle," e.g.-
"Streams o'er a rich am I bresial 1 harmony"— anacruais, strong trochaic dipodia, two dactyls. As to " Azores," I do not know Portuguese, but if the word is to be pronounced " Acorn" (probably against Portuguese usage) most we not in consistency say "Flora." and can any one read the lime us "At Floera 1 in DOI/Ulm" 1 If the word is "'Loris," the lino corresponds with line 3
"And a p'n I nano like/ a Hatt er'd
The fact that the Acores are the " Hawk Islands '• suggests that the metrical correspondence is not accidental; it emphasizes the [We cannot continue this correspolidence.—En. Spectator.]
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