The arte of English poesie Contriued into three bookes: the first of poets and poesie, the second of proportion, the third of ornament.

CHAP. VII.

Of your Cadences by which your meeter is made Symphonicall when they be sweetest and most solemne in a verse.

AS the smoothnesse of your words and sillables running vpon feete of sundrie quantities, make with the Greekes and La∣tines

the body of their verses numerous or Rithmicall, so in our vulgar Poesie, and of all other nations at this day, your verses an∣swering eche other by couples, or at larger distances in good [ca∣dence] is it that maketh your meeter symphonicall. This cadence is the fal of a verse in euery last word with a certaine tunable sound which being matched with another of like sound, do make a [con∣cord.] And the whole cadence is contained sometime in one silla∣ble, sometime in two, or in three at the most: for aboue the ante∣penultima there reacheth no accent (which is chiefe cause of the ca∣dence) vnlesse it be by vsurpatiō in some English words, to which we giue a sharpe accent vpon the fourth as, Hónorable, mátrimo∣nie, pátrimonie, míserable, and such other as would neither make a sweete cadence, nor easily find any word of like quantitie to match them. And the accented sillable with all the rest vnder him make the cadence, and no sillable aboue, as in these words, Agíllitie, fa∣cíllitie, subiéction, diréction, and these bissilables, Ténder, slénder, trústie, lústie, but alwayes the cadence which falleth vpon the last sillable of a verse is sweetest and most commendable: that vpon the penultima more light, and not so pleasant: but falling vpon the antepenultima is most vnpleasant of all, because they make your meeter too light and triuiall, and are fitter for the Epigrammatist or Comicall Poet then for the Lyrick and Elegiack, which are ac∣compted the sweeter Musickes. But though we haue sayd that (to make good concord) your seuerall verses should haue their caden∣ces like, yet must there be some difference in their orthographie, though not in their sound, as if one cadence be [constraíne] the next [restraíne] or one [aspíre] another [respíre] this maketh no good concord, because they are all one, but if ye will exchange both these consonants of the accented sillable, or voyde but one of them away, then will your cadences be good and your concord to, as to say, restraine, refraine, remaine: aspire, desire, retire: which rule neuerthelesse is not well obserued by many makers for lacke of good iudgement and a delicate eare. And this may suffise to shew the vse and nature of your cadences, which are in effect all the sweetnesse and cunning in our vulgar Poesie.