M. P. S. L. MILTON ADDISON JOHNSON DE QUINCEY CARLYLE MACAULAY LAMB EMERSON HOLMES BURKE WEBSTER INGERSOLL THE Times THE Times, R. SPENCER 52.54 141.29 87.33 66.74 16.33 7.10 1.42 .30.73 95.53 96.79 64.09 30.73 9.15 .65 .28.93 107.00 78.74 82.10 26.24 6.73 .67 24.58 112.69 116.11 62,83 21.85 4.78 .68 .19.96 88.87 89.51 66.33 36.06 8.56 77.72 87.51 78.94 37.94 .16.83 89.76 92.56 64.51 38.14 33.36 116.45 102.83 63.33 19.06 6.81 2.72 .68 .20.86 73.67 87.36 73.02 29.34 11.08 4.56 3.91 .17.95 85.42 100.27 60.04 33.42 11.14 2.47 .61 .23.76 106.24 111.14 65.00 23.06 9.08 22.04 89.58 105.93 63.99 27.72 .15.31 75.28 98.25 74.00 33.81 .26.78 87.22 88.46 71.02 31.77 .26.67 135.48 91.26 55.45 28.78 .17.44 81.61 96.56 64.79 33.64 9.34 3.11 1.24 THE Journal ......26.22 113.16 101.43 61.41 23.46 5.52 3.45 1.38 .35.00 93.60 98.93 78.38 22.83 3.80 2.28 .20.36 51.45 75.04 63.78 34.30 .65 111.55 120.96 57.12 22.84 4.69 Table II gives the average unaccented interval in syllables, the average deviation from this average, and the average word-length in syllables, for each of the selections. A cursory glance at Table I shows that each selection has a foot of maximum frequency, either (1) or (2); that the curves rise more steeply than they descend; that there is considerable variety of shape in the curves. A few typical ones have been plotted and are given in the accompanying charts. The points to be noted are: the acute and the rounded summit, the steep and the gradual descent, the summit in (1) and the summit in (2), the double apex or dip (Milton and Stevenson). Before proceeding to discuss the figures presented in the preceding tables, it will be desirable to give some evidence of their reliability; first, as measures of objective fact; second, as typical of the whole work from which each selection was taken. The first thousand words of Cooper's "Red Rover" were scanned by two persons besides the writer. Both were students at Teacher's College, Columbia University, but one had never scanned poetry. The numerical results are given, together with those from the writer's scansion, for comparison, in Table III. from the other two, but it will be noticed that the maximum is in the same column. The low number in column (0), and the high numbers in columns (5) and (6), indicate that this person omitted a great many accents that were marked by the first two. Stevenson's "Old Pacific Capital" was scanned by C. W., who had never scanned poetry. The next table gives the result, together with the corresponding figures from Table I. C. W. scanned the second thousand words; A. L. the first thousand. TABLE IV. STEVENSON'S "Old Pacific Capital" (1st & 2nd 1,000). A. L. ....39.49 140.01 76.10 85.44 16.51 3.59 .71 The two scansions give widely divergent figures in columns (0) and (1). Now, it will be observed that the number of (0)'s marked by C. W. is far in excess of that given for any writer by A. L. in Table I. It is also more than double the number marked by M. R. in the Cooper selection. It seems a fair inference that C. W. was abnormal in accenting successive syllables. C. W.'s manner of speaking supports this inference. It is slow and deliberate, with strong emphasis, always noticed by new acquaintances. If we throw in a few unaccented syllables here and there so as to reduce (0) to more normal size, (1) will rise proportionally. It should be noticed that the high frequency of (1) and the relatively high frequency of (3) appear in both records. Henry James' "Watch and Ward" was scanned by K, graduate student of English. A. L. 30.91 108.54 102.36 68.01 24.73 6.87 .68 1.91 .92 1.92 .97 We observe here that the maxima are in the same column and the general agreement good. A piece of prose having a large excess of one kind of "foot," we may assume, will have a different rhythmical character from one with an excess of another kind. Its rhythm will be greatly colored by the predominant type. Hence agreement among different markers in marking the most frequent "foot," indicates agreement in feeling the predominant rhythm. The most frequent "foot," it has been noted, is always in column (1) or (2). These two intervals are radically of different type. Foot (1) is two-rhythm-iambic or trochaic; foot (2) is threerhythm-anapaestic or dactyllic. Foot (3), on the other hand, may be the result of negligence in marking foot (1), as a little consideration will show. Similarly, foot (4) may be due to neglect of adjacent (1)'s and (2)'s, and foot (4), to neglect of successive (2)'s. One would expect the scansion of an inexperienced person to show a greater number of the long intervals than the scansion of a person who had marked a large number of pieces. The scansion of three of the markers illustrates this point. But the opposite may happen. The inexperienced marker may mark too minutely, marking wordaccents instead of sentence-accents. This seems to have been done by (M. R.). As to the extent to which the figures in Table I may be taken to be typical for the piece of writing as a whole from which each selection of a thousand words was taken, some evidence will be found in Table VI and VII. Each of the selections named in the first column of Table VI was divided in half, and the different types of foot in each half were counted just as they had been in the wholes. The halves ranged in size between seven and eight hundred syllables. The figures in the table have been reduced to a common denominator of 500. In Table VII are given the figures resulting from L. T.'s scansion of the first and second consecutive thousand words of Cooper's "Red Rover." |