§ 524. The Full Accent at the Twelfth Syllable. The full accent at the end of the line must be assisted

(A) By rhyme.

(B) By the absence of enjambement.

A. RHYME.

By rhyme is meant a correspondence, at certain intervals, of sounds in the termination of words. Hence the rhyme ought to be judged by the ear, and not by the eye.

All French verse has rhyme. The French accent is too weak for blank verse to be possible. It would be barely distinguishable from prose.†

Both in French and English, if the ear is not satisfied, the rhyme is bad. In English, the converse is usually true; if the ear is satisfied, the rhyme is good. In French, there is a greater choice of rhymes than in English, and many which would satisfy the ear are not admitted; either the eye or the sense forbids them. Therefore the rules for rhymes in French divide themselves naturally into two classes:

a. Rules made that the rhymes may satisfy the ear.

B. Rules made that the rhymes may satisfy the eye.

(a.) Rules made that the rhymes may satisfy the ear.

1. Every syllable is made up in one of four ways:

A vowel or diphthong sound alone: a, et, eu, eau, ou, oui. A vowel or diphthong sound preceded by a consonant sound: ta, tes, tant, pût, vertu, fouet.

A vowel or diphthong sound followed by a consonant sound: air, ère; il, elle.

A vowel or diphthong sound both followed by a consonant sound and preceded by one: ver, pour, sel.

2. For a pair of rhymes to satisfy the ear,

The vowel or diphthong sound must be the same in both : jamais, permets; doux, nous; assied, pied, etc.

The consonant sound which follows the vowel or diphthong sound must be the same in both: usage, partage; soupir, désir. The consonant sound which precedes the vowel or diphthong sound may or may not be the same in both. If it is the same, the rhyme is said to be, rich':‡ combattu, vertu ; autels, mortels. If it is not the same, the rhyme is said to be 'sufficient': danser, entrer; funeste, modeste; enfin, lin; place, glace.

* Rhyme must not be confused with rhythm.

† See Molière le Sicilien, l'Avare; § 521, note.

If only the vowels correspond in a pair of rhymes, we have assonance." Assonance is not allowed in Modern French, but is found in Old French. In English, rich rhymes are very unusual.

3. Among rich rhymes which are rarely neglected, are―

Those ending in a, é, i, o, u. Sufficient rhymes like donna, alla; volonté, aimé ; établi, fini ; vu, tribu; are unusual. Those ending in tion, sion, gion, etc. Sufficient rhymes like légion, exécution, are unusual.

Those ending in -ent, -ant. Sufficient rhymes like vent, brûlant; grands, temps, enfants, innocents, are unusual.

4. A vowel may not rhyme with a diphthong: such rhymes as the following are rare :—

Veux-tu que je te die? une atteinte secrète

Ne laisse point mon âme en une bonne assiette. (MOLIÈRE.) 5. Such rhymes as disgrâce, place; abattre, idolâtre; ordonne, trône (VOLTAIRE); âme, flamme; parole, rôle (CORNEILLE); place, gráce (MOLIÈRE); are faulty.* The vowel sounds are not alike.

(8.) Rules made that the rhymes may satisfy the eye.

The following rules have nothing to defend them except usage. No such restrictions in the use of rhymes exists in English.

1. The pair of rhymes must either (a) both end in e mute, or must (b) both not end in e mute. If they end in e mute, they are called 'feminine' rhymes; if they do not, they are called masculine' rhymes:

Feminine rhymes: heure, meilleure; journée, donnée; père, mère; chose, dispose, etc., etc.

Masculine rhymes: bonheur, peur; autel, sel; désir, plaisir; vertu, abattu; cité, habité, etc., etc.

2. In lines of twelve syllables the rhymes must run alternately two masculine, two feminine.†

Trop heureux pour lui de hasarder vos jours!
Et quel besoin son bras a-t-il de nos secours ?
Que peuvent contre lui tous les rois de la terre?
En vain ils s'uniraient pour lui faire la guerre ;
Pour dissiper leur ligue il n'a qu'à se montrer;
Il parle, et dans la poudre il les fait tous rentrer;)
Au seul son de sa voix la mer fuit, le ciel tremble
Il voit comme un néant tout l'univers ensemble.

(RACINE.)

* At least, such rhymes would be faulty now. Probably at the time these words were written they were good (§ 531).

These are spoken of as rimes plates (consecutive rhymes), as distinguished from rimes croisées (alternate rhymes), and rimes mêlées (mixed or irregular rhymes). Probably at one time they satisfied the ear (§ 532).

3. A word in the singular may not rhyme with a word in the plural: père, mères, etc.; nor may any word ending in s, x, rhyme with a word in which these letters are absent: tu dois, le roi, je veux, adieu, etc. (§ 369).

4. A word in -er may not rhyme with a word in é: aimer, donné, etc.

5. A word may not rhyme with itself :

Les chefs, les soldats ne se connaissent plus*

L'un ne peut commander, l'autre n'obéit plus.

Words of like sound, but of different meaning, are allowed; but they occur rarely in tragedy.

Ai-je fait quelque chose? Eclaircis-moi ce point

Non, vous n'avez rien fait; mais ne me suivez point.

(MOLIÈRE.) Words of kindred meaning do not form good rhymes, e.g., a simple word and its compound: juste, injuste; suit, poursuit; or a noun and its verb: je soutiens, des soutiens.

B. ENJAMBEMENT.

To signify that the sense must assist the accent by allowing a pause at the end of the line, it is usual to say that enjambement (enjamber, to stride over) is forbidden.† It must be distinctly understood that this term enjambement is limited in its use to the cases in which the sense ends abruptly at the beginning of the second line. If the sense is completed not by a fragment, but by the whole or the greater part of the second line; if, in short, there is no temptation to make a pause at the beginning of the second line, and by so doing to neglect the pause at the end of the first upon which the rhythm depends, it is not spoken of as enjambe•ment. Hence the following lines are not faulty :

Et certes son visage

Porte de sa grandeur l'ineffaçable image.

(RACINE, Alexandre.)

*Such rhymes please neither the eye nor the ear, and would be avoided in English as well as in French.

This is really equivalent to saying that the casura is insisted upon at the end of the line.

The Romantic school (§ 22) defend the enjambement. That it may at times be used with effect there is no doubt, but it is difficult to admire such lines as the following:

"C'est ainsi qu' achevait l'aveugle en soupirant,

Et près des bois marchait, faible et sur une pierre,
Sasseyait. Trois pasteurs, enfants de cette terre,
Le suivaient, accourus aux abois turbulents,

Des molosses, gardiens de leurs troupeaux bêlants." (CHÉNIER.)

Dans ce désordre à mes yeux se présente

Un jeune enfant couvert d'une robe éclatante. (RACINE.)

Vous m'avez commandé de vous parler sans feinte,*
Madame : quel est donc ce grand sujet de crainte.

(ID.)

Du sort de cet enfant je me suis fait instruire,”*
Ai-je dit: “On commence à vanter ses aïeux.”

(ID.)

Si ma fille une fois met le pied en Aulide,*

Elle est morte; Calchas, qui l'attend en ces lieux
Fera taire nos pleurs, fera parler les dieux.

(ID.)

Real enjambement is allowed if the sentence is immediately broken off :

Est-ce un frère? est-ce vous, dont la témérité
S'imagine?-Apaisez ce courroux emporté.

(CORNEILLE.)

Again, real enjambement is at times allowed to produce some special effect;

Un flot au loin blanchit, s'allonge, s'enfle et gronde,
Soudain le mont liquide, élevé dans les airs,
Retombe: un noir limon bouillonne sur les mers.

(DELILLE.)

Là-dessus, maître rat, plein de belle espérance,
Approche de l'écaille, allonge un peu le cou,
Se sent pris comme aux lacs; car l'huître tout d'un coup
Se referme. Et voilà ce que fait l'ignorance.

(LA FONTAINE.)

Puis donc qu'on nous permet de prendre
Haleine, et qu'on nous défend de nous étendre.

Horace, les voyant l'un et l'autre écartés,
Se retourne, et déjà les croit demi-domptés.

(RACINE.)

(CORNEILLE.)

* Very nearly enjambement; compare the last example from Corneille.

со

§ 525. The Minor Accents.
A.

For the position of the full accent the rules are fixed, and admit, as we have seen, of but little variation. The position of the minor accent, on the contrary, depends upon the will of the writer. It is evident that the third or fourth syllable in each hemistich bears the minor accent better than the first or second, for then the line is more equally balanced (cadencé), and the rhythm is more real. But a constant repetition of the same accentuation produces monotony, and in practice it is usual to give variety to lines by shifting the minor accents at a greater or less sacrifice of rhythm:

Celui qui met un frein || à la fureur | des flots.||
Sait aussi des méchants || arrêter | les complots.||
Soumis avec respect || à sa volonté | sainte.||

Je crains Dieu cher Abner || et n'ai point | d'autre crainte. ||
Cependant je rends grâce || au zèle | officieux.|

Qui sur tous mes périls || vous fait ouvrir | les yeux.||
Je vois que l'injustice || en secret | vous irrite.||
Que vous avez encor || le cœur | israélite.||

(RACINE.)

The minor accent is rarely put immediately before the full accent, for the rhythm is destroyed by such an arrangement:

(RACINE.)

Soumis avec respect || à sa volonté | sainte.
Devant ce fier lion || qui ne te connaît | pas.||
Souvent nous avons peine || à dire pourquoi | c'est.||

(ID.)

(MOLIÈRE.)

Le sang de vos rois | crie, || et n'est point | écouté.||

(RACINE.)

Je le savais bien, | moi || que vous | l'épouseriez.||

(MOLIÈRE.)

*The rules of the minor accent are usually included under the general heading of cadence (= rhythm with well-chosen and pleasing words): Ayez pour la cadence une oreille sévère, says Boileau, but he lays down no rules. He leaves it to the taste of the writer.

If on the third, we get "anapasts."

When the minor accent is not well placed, the half-line is practically prose in which the rules of hiatus and e mute are observed (§§ 526, 527).