"
Six polysyllables only in eight lines!
The ingenuity of Pope's line is great, but the criticism false. We
applaud it only because we have never taken the trouble to think about
the matter, and take it for granted that all monosyllabic lines must
"creep" like that which he puts forward as a specimen. The very
frequency of monosyllables in the compositions of our language is one
grand cause of that frequency passing uncommented upon by the general
reader. The investigation prompted by the criticism will serve only to
show its unsoundness.
K.I.P.B.T.
* * * * *
ON GRAY'S ELEGY.
If required to name the most popular English poem of the last century, I
should perhaps fix on the _Elegy_ of Gray. According to Mason, it "ran
through eleven editions in a very short space of time." If he means
_separate_ editions, I can point out six other impressions in the
life-time of the poet, besides those in miscellaneous collections viz.
In _Six Poems by Mr. T. Gray_, London, 1753.
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