Prescanned Shakespeare.com
presented by Acoustic Learning
Your sense of equality extends beyond feet. You also naturally equalize lines. Read the following verse out loud, without trying to "perform" it.
I dwelt alone in a world of moan,
And my soul was a silent tide,
Till the fair and gentle Eulalie became my blushing bride.
You naturally pause after "tide." The first two lines run together without stopping; however, if you continue immediately to the third line, the rhythm stumbles. Without a pause, the third line starts out clumsily, even though all the feet are equal.
, , 2 , ,
I dwelt | alone | in a world | of moan,
2 , 2 , ,
And my soul | was a sil|ent tide,
2 , , , , , , ,
Till the fair | and gent|le Eu|lalie | became | my blush|ing bride.
The feet are equal-- but the lines are not. The first line is four feet long and the second is only three. You add a pause after "tide" to make both lines equally four feet long. Once the lines are equal, the rhythm flows.
, , 2 , ,
I dwelt | alone | in a world | of moan,
(1) (2) (3) (4)
2 , 2 , ,
And my soul | was a sil|ent tide, | *PAUSE*
(1) (2) (3) (4)
You are naturally sensitive to equal lines. That's why written verse is organized into lines, and prose isn't. Lines, in verse, are visual markers showing the equality you naturally feel.
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