The proputty, proputty, proputty suggests unmistakably the sound of the horse's hoofs. Though one has never studied Latin, he can hardly fail to catch the hoof-beat in the following line: Quád ru pe dánte pu | trém, soni | tú quatit | úngula | cámpum. In Browning's Up at a Villa occurs the line Bang-whang-whang goes the drum, tootle-te-tootle the fife. And here we have a more delicate degree of onomatopoeia: I heard the ripple washing in the reeds And the wild water lapping on the crag. In these illustrations, the device is easily detected, for in each case there is direct imitation, or at least the sound echoes the sense. Sometimes, however, the reader merely feels that the words are appropriate, feels that the sounds are not only in harmony with one another, but in harmony with the sense. For convenience of reference, the technical terms of versification are here brought together: Accent: The emphasis which the voice gives a syllable to show that it is of more importance than neighboring syllables. Rhythm: The swing or movement imparted by the occurrence of stressed or accented syllables at regular intervals. Meter: The rhythmical arrangement of words. Verse: A line of poetry. Foot: A group of syllables one of which is always accented; a unit of rhythm. Iambus: A foot of two syllables the second of which receives the accent. Trochee: A foot of two syllables the first of which reIceives the accent. Anapaest: A foot of three syllables the last of which receives the accent. Dactyl: A foot of three syllables the first of which reIceives the accent. Amphibrach: A foot of three syllables, the second of which receives the accent. Monometer: A line containing one metrical foot. Feminine Line: A line containing an extra unaccented syllable at the end. Truncated Line: A line in which a final unaccented syllable is missing. Rhyme: Similarity of sound, usually found at the end of lines. Alliteration: Regular occurrence of an initial letter or sound in the accented parts of words of poetry. Onomatopoeia: Use of words the sounds of which suggest the sense. Stanza: A group of metrically related lines; a minor division of a poem. Blank Verse: Unrhymed poetry, normally iambic pentameter. Couplet: Two consecutive lines, usually rhyming. Heroic Couplet: Iambic pentameter lines rhymed in pairs. Triplet: Three consecutive lines, usually rhyming. Quatrain: A four line stanza. Spenserian Stanza: Eight iambic pentameter lines followed by an iambic hexameter (Alexandrine) line, the rhyming scheme being a b a bbcbcc. Italian Sonnet: A poem of fourteen iambic pentameter lines, an eight line group followed by a six line group, the rhyming scheme of the first being a b b a a b b a, of the second c d c dcd or cdecde. NOTE. For exercises to accompany this section, see page 209. Ꭰ THEMES FOR ESSAYS AND ORATIONS The following loosely classified lists of subjects appropriate for school essays and orations are from Themebook in English Composition. 1 The mistakes of my high school course What I shall remember with greatest pleasure after graduation What mechanical drawing has done for me What constitutes popularity in the high school Who's who in high school The value of the study of English High school politics Getting ready for class day The ideal school paper The value of art training in everyday life The English system of education versus the American Democracy in the high school A day in the commercial department An hour in the laboratory A study in seniors How our building is heated A description of the gymnasium on a gala occasion The humorous side of school life The ideal senior An hour in the studio The ultimate good to be derived from athletics The value of the study of the drama How our school prepares for good citizenship What I have received from the course in The sounds heard in ten minutes in the heart of a woods The sounds heard in ten minutes at midday 4 Modes of travel, past and present The history of photography What became of a tree The farm of the future New York in 2000 A visit to a pottery Modern miracles of science A blast furnace A lesson in forestry History of a plant from germ to decay The old housekeeper and the new |