--Tennyson.
We frequently find verses in which a syllable is lacking at the close of
the line; we also find many verses in which an extra syllable is added.
Verse that contains the number of syllables required by its meter is said
to be acatalectic; if it contains more than the required number of
syllables, it is said to be hypercatalectic; and if it lacks a syllable,
it is termed catalectic. It is difficult to tell whether a line has the
required number of syllables or not when it is taken by itself; but by
comparing it with the line prevailing in the rest of the stanza we are
enabled to tell whether it is complete or not. Shakespeare's _Julius
Caesar_ is written in iambic pentameter verse. Knowing this, we can detect
the hypercatalectic and catalectic lines.
U _| U _ | U _| U _| U _ |
You all did see that on the Lupercal
U _ | U _| U _ |U _| U _|
I thrice presented him a kingly crown
U _| U _ |U _ | U _ | U _| U
Which he did thrice refuse. Was this ambition?
U _| U _ | U _ | U _ | U
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious.
--Shakespeare.
+112. Cesura.+--Besides the pauses caused by rests or silences there is
the cesural pause which needs to be considered in reading verse. A cesura
is a pause determined by the sense. It coincides with some break in the
sense. It is found in different parts of the verse and may be entirely
lacking. Its observance does not noticeably interfere with the rhythm.
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