A Grammar of the English Tongue

Prosody

It is common for those that deliver the grammar of modern languages, to omit the Prosody. So that of the Italians is neglected by Buomattei; that of the French by Desmarais; aad that of the English by Wallis, Cooper, and even by Jonson, though a poet. But as the laws of metre are included in the idea of grammar, I have thought proper to insert them.

PROSODY comprises orthoepy, or the rules of pronunciation; and orthometry, or the laws of versification.

Pronunciation is just, when every letter has its proper sound, and every syllable has its proper accent, or, which in English versification is the same, its proper quantity.

The sounds of the letters have been already explained; and rules for the accent or quantity are not easily to be given, being subject to innumerable exceptions. Such, however, as I have read or formed, I shall here propose.

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1. Of dissyllables, formed by affixing a termination, the former syllable is commonly accented, as chldish, kngdom, ctest, cted, tilsome, lver, scffer, farer, fremost, zalous, flness, gdly, mekly, rtist.

2. Dissyllables formed by prefixing a syllable to the radical word, have commonly the accent on the latter; as to begt, to besem, to bestw.

3. Of dissyllables, which are at once nouns and verbs, the verb has commonly the accent on the latter, and the noun on the former syllable; as, to descnt, a dscant; to cemnt, a cment; to contrct, a cntract.

This rule has many exceptions. Though verbs seldom have their accent on the former, yet nouns often have it on the latter syllable; as delght, perfme.

4. All dissyllables ending in y, as crnny; in our, as lbour, fvour; in ow, as wllow, wllow, except allw; in le, as bttle, bble; in ish, as bnish; in ck, as cmbrick, cssock; in ter, as to btter; in age, as corage, in en, as fsten; in et, as quet; accent the former syllable.

5. Dissyllable nouns in er, as cnker, btter, have the accent on the former syllable.

6. Dissyllable verbs terminating in a consonant and e final, as comprse, escpe; or having a diphthong in the last syllable, as appase, reval; or ending in two consonants, as attnd; have the accent on the latter syllable.

7. Dissyllable nouns having a diphthong in the latter syllable, have commonly their accent on the latter syllable, as appluse; except words in ain, crtain, montain.

8. Trissyllables formed by adding a termination, or prefixing a syllable, retain the accent of the radical word; as, lveliness, tnderness, contmner, wgonner, phsical, besptter, cmmenting, commnding, assrance.

9. Trissyllables ending in ous, as grcious, rduous; in al, as cpital; in ion, as mntion; accent the first.

10. Trissyllables ending in ce, ent, and ate, accent the first syllable, as cuntenance, cntinence, rmament, mminent, legant, prpagate, except they be derived from words having the accent on the last, as connvance, acquintance; or the middle syllable hath a vowel before two consonants, as promlgate.

11. Trissyllables ending in y, as ntity, spcify, lberty, vctory, sbsidy, commonly accent the first syllable.

12. Trissyllables in re or le accent the first syllable, as lgible, thatre, except discple, and some words which have a position, as exmple, epstle.

13. Trissyllables in ude commonly accent the first syllable, as plnitude.

14. Trissyllables ending in ator or atour, as cretour; or having in the middle syllable a diphthong, as endevour; or a vowel before two consonants, as domstick; accent the middle syllable.

15. Trissyllables that have their accent on the last syllable are commonly French, as acquisce, reparte, magazne, or words formed by prefixing one or two syllables to an acute syllable, as immatre, overchrge.

16. Polysyllables, or words of more than three syllables, follow the accent of the words from which they are derived, as rrogating, cntinency, incntinently, commndable, commnicableness. We should therefore say disptable, indisptable; rather than dsputable, indsputable; and advertsement, rather than advrtisement.

17. Words in ion have the accent upon the antepenult, as salvtion, perturbtion, concction; words in atour or ator on the penult, as dedictor.

18. Words ending in le commonly have the accent on the first syllable, as micable, unless the second syllable have a vowel before two consonants, as combstible.

19. Words ending in ous have the accents on the antepenult, as uxrious, volptuous.

20. Words ending in ty have their accent on the antepenult, as pusillanmity, actvity.

These rules are not advanced as complete or infallible, but proposed as useful. Almost every rule of every language has its exceptions; and in English, as in other tongues, much must be learned by example and authority. Perhaps more and better rules may be given that have escaped my observation.

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VERSIFICATION is the arrangement of a certain number of syllables according to certain laws.

The feet of our verses are either iambick, as alft, crete; or trochaick, as hly, lfty.

Our iambick measure comprises verses

Of four syllables,

Of six,

Of eight, which is the usual measure for short poems,

Of ten, which is the common measure of heroick and tragick poetry,

In all these measures the accents are to be placed on even syllables; and every line considered by itself is more harmonious, as this rule is more strictly observed. The variations necessary to pleasure belong to the art of poetry, not the rules of grammar.

Our trochaick measures are Of three syllables,

Of five,

Of seven,

In these measures the accent is to be placed on the odd syllables.

These are the measures which are now in use, and above the rest those of seven, eight, and ten syllables. Our ancient poets wrote verses sometimes of twelve syllables, as Drayton's Polyolbion.

And of fourteen, as Chapman's Homer.

The measures of twelve and fourteen syllables were often mingled by our old poets, sometimes in alternate lines, and sometimes in alternate couplets.

The verse of twelve syllables, called an Alexandrine, is now only used to diversify heroick lines.

The pause in the Alexandrine must be at the sixth syllable.

The verse of fourteen syllables is now broken into a soft lyrick measure of verses, consisting alternately of eight syllables and six.

We have another measure very quick and lively, and therefore much used in songs, which may be called the anapestick, in which the accent rests upon every third syllable.

In this measure a syllable is often retrenched from the first foot, as

These measures are varied by many combinations, and sometimes by double endings, either with or without rhyme, as in the heroick measure.

So in that of eight syllables,

In that of seven,

In that of six,

In the anapestick,

To these measures and their laws, may be reduced every species of English verse.

Our versification admits of few licences, except a synaloepha, or elision of e in the before a vowel, as th' eternal; and more rarely of o in to, as t' accept; and a synaresis, by which two short vowels coalesce into one syllable, as question, special; or a word is contracted by the expulsion of a short vowel before a liquid, as av'rice, temp'rance.

Thus have I collected rules and examples, by which the English language may be learned, if the reader be already acquainted with grammatical terms, or taught by a master to those that are more ignorant. To have written a grammar for such as are not yet initiated in the schools, would have been tedious, and perhaps at last ineffectual.