Metrical Analysis by Ferrick Gray
This analysis uses the version from:
The Twickenham Edition of the Poems of Alexander Pope
General Editor: John Butt
Volume II — The Rape of the Lock and Other Poems
The Five Canto Version of 1714
Edited by Geoffrey Tillotson
The Broadwater Press Ltd, 1963
Prefatory Note
What follows has been stated before, but it will not hurt as a reminder of what these metrical analyses are about.
No-one can dispute the fact that Pope was the master of the riming couplets. He wrote most of his work in what we may now call heroic couplets which are written in iambic pentameter. As anyone who has written in this form will attest, there are certain times when a variation must occur in the verse.
Variations are generally a substitution for the iamb. Hence we may find an amphibrach, anapest or dactyl taking the place of an iamb within the verse. Of course this does not exclude the trochee which commonly may lead the verse.
When undertaking these metrical analyses, it is not a matter of being critical. It is to identify the variation, explain why it has been used and what the effect on the verse may be. In other words, why verses are as they are and not otherwise.
Canto II of The Rape of the Lock will be the focus for this second in the series of analyses.
Metrical Analysis and Comments
Verse 27
27 Fair Tresses Man’s Imperial Race insnare,
28 And Beauty draws us with a single Hair.
Here we observe that the four-syllable Imperial may be the source of variation.
27 Fa͝ir Trēss | ĕs Mān’s | Ĭmpērĭ | ăl Rāce | ĭnsnāre
The amphibrach in the third foot sits very well and gives a symmetry to the verse. That is, the amphibrach surrounded by iambs on each side. Note that given the appropriate word an anapest would also have worked, but definitely not a dactyl. As for verse 28:
28 Ănd Be͞au | ty̆ drāws | ŭs wīth |ă sīn | glĕ Ha͞ir
it merrily skips along in strict iambic pentameter.
Verse 29
29 Th’ Adventrous Baron the bright Locks admir’d,
30 He saw, he wish’d, and to the Prize apir’d:
We would assume that adventrous, itself the eliding of adventurous will be the position of variation in the verse.
29 ~ Th’(ē) | Ădvēn | tro͝us Bārŏn | thĕ brĭght Lōcks | ădmīr’d
This is an unusual construction for Pope, but it still sits well with the rhythm and we can hear five speech stresses when reading. Eliding the can seem somewhat of a problem because it is clearly stressed at the start. However, for the five metrical accents to align with the five speech stresses, it must be a clipped iamb. Basically we have a headless verse. Its place is noted by the introduction of the amphibrach followed by anapest, but still to finish with an iamb. Simply by reading the verse we can feel that pause which is necessary after Baron.
Verse 30 in a stunning iambic pentameter verse:
30 Hĕ sāw | hĕ wīsh’d | ănd tō | thĕ Prīze | ăspīr’d
Verse 67
67 While ev’ry Beam new transient Colours flings,
68 Colours that change whene’er they wave their Wings.
This is a variation in meter and verse 67 and 68 are both classified as iambic pentameter. The iambicity of verse 67 depends greatly on your pronunciation of transient. Some would pronounce it as the three-syllable trans-i-ent whereas it is only a two-syllable word tran-sient.
67 Whĭle ēv | ry̆ Bēam | nĕw trān | si͝ent Cōl | o͝urs flīngs
A similar thing occurs with the word every. Some will pronounce it as ev-er-y giving it three syllables whereas it is only a two-syllable word eve-ry. Pope chooses to avoid any misunderstanding by eliding every to be sure of the two-syllable pronunciation.
Verse 68 does have a minor change at the start being the trochee as the iamb would be inappropriate can create and unwanted emphasis on the second syllable.
68 Cōlo͝urs | thăt chānge | whĕne’ēr | thĕy wāve | thĕir Wīngs
Note the British spelling colours in these verses.
Verse 70
69 Amid the Circle, on the gilded Mast,
70 Superior by the Head, was Ariel plac’d;
Verse 69 is the expected iambic pentameter with a medial caesura at the comma, being a traditional caesura since it breaks the metrical foot.
69 Ămīd | thĕ Cīr | clĕ ⸾ ōn | thĕ gīld | ĕd Māst
It comes as no surprise that it should be the four-syllable superior producing the variation in verse 70.
70 Sŭpērĭ | ŏr bȳ | thĕ Hēad | wăs Ār | ĭĕl plāc’d
The other point of interest is the verse length being slightly longer. There are five metrical feet, but two of them are three-syllable feet creating the longer verse. Yet as we note, the verse still retains its rhythm, starting with the amphibrach and finishing with the anapest. The three iambs between work in maintaining the iambic rhythm. We also find what appears to be a slant-rime—Mast, plac’d. Even though the -‘d would sound as -t, there is still a difference in the sounding of the vowel. Pope does not do this often, but we should also be aware that in some instances, not this, that words have changed in pronunciation over the years.
Verse 71
71 His Purple Pinions opening to the Sun,
72 He rais’d his Azure Wand, and thus begun.
The one word in question, being syllabically longer than any other in this verse is opening, so we would expect something around this position in the verse.
71 Hĭs Pūr | plĕ Pīn | i͝ons ōpĕn | ĭng tō | thĕ Sūn
Indeed, we find the amphibrach performing in much the same way an anapest would mid-verse, and that is the the word is split at the first or second syllable with the remainder appearing in the next foot.
Verse 72 continues as we would expect:
72 Hĕ rāis’d | hĭs Āz | ŭre Wānd | ănd thūs | bĕgūn
Verses 75 & 76
75 Ye know the Spheres and various Tasks assign’d
76 By Laws Eternal, to th’ Aerial Kind.
n a similar fashion, we may point to various as the position for the variation in this verse.
75 Yĕ knōw | thĕ Sphēres | ănd vār | ĭo͝us Tāsks | ăssīgn’d
This time it is the last two syllables of various forming the anapest with Tasks. The speed and position with which the anapest appears disguises its three-syllable self, and in no way disrupts the iambic meter of the verse.
Unusual for Pope, but we find that the companion verse also contains a minor variation:
76 By̆ Lāws | Ĕtēr | năl tō | th’(ĕ) Āerĭ | ăl Kīnd
Produced by Aerial along with the eliding of the to th’. Clearly Pope did not want the full sounding that the e produces in the. It may be pronounced as in thee or thuh depending where you have been taught. Thuh has more the pronunciation required here, and the amphibrach takes care of the matter.
Verse 92
91 Our humbler Province is to tend the Fair,
92 Not a less pleasing, tho’ less glorious Care.
The companion verse 91 is the expected iambic pentameter:
91 O͝ur hūm | blĕr Prōv | ĭnce īs | tŏ tēnd | thĕ Fāir
and in verse 92 we assume that glorious may be the point of variation.
92 Nōt ă | lĕss plēas | ĭng thō’ | lĕss glō | rĭo͝us Cāre
So the last two syllables in glorious make up the anapest foot with Care. We should also note the trochee start. Undue emphasis on a would come as very out of place.
Verse 116
115 Do thou, Crispissa, tend her fav’rite Lock;
116 Ariel himself shall be the Guard of Shock.
The companion verse 115 is again the expected iambic pentameter:
115 Dŏ tho͞u | Crĭspīs | să tēnd | hĕr fāv’ | rĭte Lōck
Verse 116 has something a little different due to the name Ariel appearing at the start:
116 Ārĭĕl | hĭmsēlf | shall bĕ | thĕ Gu͞ard | ŏf Stōck
Here we see Ariel as a dactyl, which is appropriate for a name, but we may also see it as an anapest with the emphasis coming before himself:
116 Ărĭēl | hĭmsēlf | shall bĕ | thĕ Gu͞ard | ŏf Stōck
this scansion would actually be the better of the two for any dramatic effect.
Final Comments
For much of this canto, Pope has closely adhered to the expected strict iambic pentameter. This is to be expected because of his prowess in heroic couplets. The variations are those which are permitted and there is nothing out of the ordinary. In some cases we find that the variation may be due to pronunciation, but this is to be expected. The reader too, needs to be flexible in how the verses are read aloud.
As we find with such variations, in general, it is only one of the companion verses that involves a variation. On some occasions we find that both verses mirror a similar variation, but this is not very common with Pope. Overall, he keeps to form.