Chap. II. PROSODY, Section I. QUANTITY. syllabical accent, and forms a dactyle, thus, fer'mětě. The same theory applies to the final e mute. The influence of the Prosodiacal Quantity over poetry, is of a nature far from being equivocal. It is especially at the end of verses, where the rhyme requires an exact similarity of sound both in Quantity and in Quality, that Prosodiacal Quantity, either mistaken, or improperly used, produces disagreeable consequences. By the improper use of & long deep, with o short, as in the following lines "Si ce n'est pas assez de vous céder un trône, Prenez encor le mien, et je vous l'abandonne ;" the ear is offended with the want of harmony existing between the two rhymes, both in point of Quantity and Quality of the sound. Boileau and Racine, although poets of the first eminence, have fallen into the same error; both have made use of the broad long & to rhyme with a short slender, a fault which might have been avoided by attending to the laws of Prosodiacal Quantity. "Un auteur à genoux dans une humble préface, RACINE. The student will easily perceive that préface and tache can never rhyme with grâce and lâche, because the Quantity and Quality of the two a's differ essentially.* #66 Longam esse duorum temporum, brevem unius, etiam pueri sciunt." QUINT. de Inst. Ora. 1. ix. c. 4. Translation. Tout le monde sait au reste qu'une syllabe longue a deux temps, et qu'une brève n'en a qu'un.-L'ABBÉ GEDOYN. с Chap. II. PROSODY, Section I. QUANTITY. With the view of rendering the knowledge of Quantity familiar to the student, the matter here will be divided into twenty general and particular rules; so that, by reading them attentively, the nature of long and short syllables may be easily understood. I.-GENERAL RULES ON QUANTITY. 1. Vowels with Circumflex accents. Vowels are long in syllables accented with the circumflex, as mât, flûte, prêt, tempête; ile, épître; rôt, apôtre; dû, bâtir, &c. Pronounce māt, flute, prēt, tempête, ile, épitre, rōt, apōtre, dū, bātir. 2. Vowels with Nasal sounds. Vowels are long in syllables sounded nasal, as dans, blanchir; vent, mentir; pain, vaincre; sein, peindre; rond, fondre; ayons, parlons; un, parfum; à jeun, &c. Pronounce dans, blanchir, vent, mentir, pain, vaincre, sein, peindre, rōnd, fondre, ayōns, parlōns, un, parfum, à jeun. 3. Vowels before Liquid sounds. Vowels are long in syllables having the liquid sound of 1 or 11, as mail, bataille; soleil, merveille; avril, gentille; seuil, feuille; fenouil, rouille, &c. Pronounce mail, bataille, soleil, merveille, avril, gentille, seuil, feuille, fenouil, grenouille. 4. Vowels before S, X, Z, mute in the singular. Vowels are long in the singular of words having s, x, z, mute, as bras, las, progrès, souris, repos, paix, Chap. II. PROSODY, Section I. QUANTITY. noix, flux, perdrix, riz, nez, j'avais, j'étais, je parlerais, je finis, je mets, je mourus, je vaux, je nais, je reçois, &c. Pronounce bras, lās, progrēs, souris, repos, paix, noix, flux, perdrix, riz, nēz, j'avais, j'étais, je parlerais, je finis, je mets, je mourus, je vaux, je nais, je reçois. 5. Vowels before S, X, Z, mute in the plural. Vowels are long in the plural of words having s, x, z, mute, as les, des, ces, mes, tes, nous, vous, avocats, dangers, pots, sels, mers, délicats, parfaits, ouverts, écrits, conçus; ceux, jeux, genoux, exux, amiraux, égaux; vous avez, vous parlez, vous aviez, vous parliez, vous auriez, vous parleriez, &c. Pronounce, lēs, dēs, cēs, mēs, tēs, noūs, voūs, avocats, dangērs, pōts, sēls, mērs, délicāts, parfaits, ouverts, écrits, conçus, ceux, jeux, genoux, eaux, amiraux, égaux, vous (avēz, vous parlez, vous aviez, vous parliēz, vous auriez, vous parleriëz. 6. Vowels before RR, SS, indivisible. Vowels are long in all words having a double r, and a double s, indivisible, as barreau, terrestre, assemblée, passable, que j'eusse, que nous eussions, que nous parlassions, que vous finissiez, qu'ils prissent, &c. Pronounce, barreau, terrestre, assemblée, passable, que j'eusse, que nous cussions, que nous parlāssions, que vous finissiez, qu'ils prissent. 7. AIENT and OIENT in Verbs. Vowels are long in the plural of verbs having their third person ending in aient, or oient, as ils avaient, ils auraient, ils étaient, ils seraient, ils parlaient, ils parleraient, qu'ils aient, qu'ils paient, qu'ils soient, qu'ils emploient, &c. Pronounce, ils avaient, ils auraient, ils étaient, ils seraient, ils parlaient, ils parleraient, qu'ils aient, qu'ils païent, qu'ils soient, qu'ils emploient. Chap. II. PROSODY, Section I. QUANTITY. 8. A, E, I, O, U, before tion. Vowels are long in every word having a, e, i, o, u, before tion, as nation, sujétion, tradition, potion, and locution, &c. Pronounce, nation, sujētion, tradition, pōtion, locution. 9. E final mute. Vowels are long in every word or syllable having e mute, medial or final, as, épée, vie, zone, foie, rue, lieue, monnaie, statue, jolie, gaie, je crée, ils crient, je prie, ils prient, je joue, ils jouent, je tue, ils tuent, j'essaie, ils essaient, j'envoie, ils envoient, &c. Pronounce, épée, vie, roue, foie, rūe, lieue, monnaie, statue, jolie, gaie, je prie, ils prient, je crée, ils créent, je joue, ils jouent, je tue, ils tuent, j'essaie, ils essaient, j'envoie, ils envoient. II.-PARTICULAR RULES ON QUANTITY. 10. A short. A is short in la, ma, ta, sa, papa, cela, rat, chat, &c. It is short also in initial and medial syllables forming no part of the first nine rules, as ami, avoir, salon, égarer, &c. Pronounce, lă, mă, tă, să, păpă, celă, răt, chút, ămi, wvoir, sulon, égürer. 11. A long. A is long in the following final syllables, and others of the same nature. Chap. II. PROSODY, Section I. QUANTITY. 12. E short. E unaccented is short in je, me, te, se, le, de, ce, ne, que, &c. as well as in sujet, tel, mer, bref, parler, &c. It is short also in accented e's, as thé, abbé, été, aimé, donné, avalé, imaginé, &c. Lastly, it is short also in initial and medial syllables, forming no part of the first nine rules, as rebellion, grelot, respiration, proprement, &c. Pronounce, jě, mě, tě, sě, lě, dě, cě, ně, què, sujět, těl, měr, brěf, parlěr, thě, abbě, étě, aimě, donně, avalě, imagině, rebellion, grělot, respiration, proprement. Observe that e mute final as table, homme, muse, ils parlent, is always accented short, as table, hommě, musě, ils parlent. 13. E long. E is long in the following final syllables, and others of the same nature. I is short in ami, si, ci, qui, joli, il, lit, fil, bouilli, réjoui, &c. It is short also in initial and medial syllables forming no part of the first nine rules, as image, cité, habitant, unique, filer, débiter, &c. Pronounce, ami, si, ci, quì, joli, il, lit, fil, bouilli, réjoui, image, cité, habitant, unique, filer, débiter. Observe that i with a or e, as lait, peine, is short also, say laît, peľne. |