His general conclusion
was the same as that reached by Professor Gummere in his searching discussion
of "Rhythm as the Essential Fact of Poetry".* Both of them saw
that the origin of poetry was in the dance and the march, and later the song.
In modern times the two arts had become distinct. Lanier believed that,
in accordance with its origin and the practice of the best poets,
the basis of rhythm is time and not accent. Every line
is made up of bars of equal time value. "If this equality of time
were taken away, no possibility of rhythm would remain."
"The accent serves only to mark for the ear these equal intervals of time,
which are the units of poetic measurement." Lanier's theory of quantity,
however, is different from the rigid laws of classic quantity,
for he allows for variations from the regular type of verse that may prevail
in a certain poem or line, thus providing for "an escape out of
the rigidities of the type into the infinite field of those subtle rhythms
which pervade familiar utterance." He separates himself therefore
from such writers as Abbott and Guest, who applied the rule of thumb
to English verse. To such men "Shakspere's verse has often seemed
a mass of `license', of `irregularity', and of lawless anomaly
to commentators; while, approached from the direction of
that great rhythmic sense of humanity displayed in music,
in all manner of folk-songs, and in common talk, it is perfect music."
--
* `The Beginnings of Poetry', chapter 2.
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