It consists, as will have been observed, of four anapæsts. Sometimes it admits of a short syllable at the end of the verse: as,
"Ĭn thĕ dēad ŏf thĕ nīght, whĕn wĭth dīre cătĕrwāuling
Of ḡrimalkins in chorus the house-tops resound:
All insensibly drunk, and unconsciously sprawling
In the kennel, how pleasant it is to be found!"
The various specimens of versification of which examples have been given, may be improved and varied by the admission of secondary feet into their composition; but as we are not writing an Art of Poetry, we cannot afford to show how: particularly as the only way, after all, of acquiring a real knowledge of the structure of English verse, is by extensive reading. Besides, there yet remain a few Directions for Poetical Beginners, which we feel ourselves called upon to give, and for which, if we do not take care, we shall not have room.
The commencement of a poet's career is usually the writing of nonsense verses. The nonsense of these compositions is very often unintentional; but sometimes words are put together avowedly without regard to sense, and with no other view than that of acquiring a familiarity with metrical arrangement: as,
"Approach, disdain, involuntary, tell."
But this is dry work. It may be necessary to compose in this way just at first, but in our opinion, there is a good and a bad taste to be displayed even in writing nonsense verses; that is, verses which really deserve that name. We recommend the young poet to make it his aim to render his nonsense as perfect as possible.
