...along.' " Soft is the strain, when Zephyr gently blows, And the smooth stream in smoother numbers flows, But when loud surges lash the sounding shore, The...strives some rock's vast weight to throw, The line too labors, and the words move slow. Not so when swift Camilla scours the plain, plies o'er the unbending...

...sense: Soft is the strain when Zephyr gently blows, And the smooth stream in smoother numbers flows; But when loud surges lash the sounding shore, The...throw, The line too labours, and the words move slow : 370 Not so, when swift Camilla scours the plain, Flies o'er the unbending corn, and skims along the...

...exceedingly influenced by quantity. Pope certainly knew this, and exemplified it in his couplet: " When Ajaz strives some rock's vast weight to throw, The line too labours, and the words move slow." The pure metre, being accentual, would be the same if he had written, " When Aiis aims & rrtc'k^ mdss...

...occasions a very drawling movement. Another example 1 shall take from the same author : " When Ajai strives some rock's vast weight to throw, The line too labours, and the words move slow."$ In the first of these lines, the harsh combinations of consonants make the difficulty of pronunciation...

...A a Soft is the strain when Zephyr gently blows, And the smooth stream in smoother numbers flows ; But when loud surges lash the sounding shore, The...throw, The line too labours, and the words move slow : 371 Not so, when swift Camilla scours the plain, Flies o'er th' unbending corn, and skims along the...

...case of enactment for traditional poetics is Pope's example from Homer in his 'Essay on Criticism': 'When Ajax strives some rock's vast weight to throw, / The line too labours and the words move slow.' But the Sonnets offer more striking examples, such as the opening of 129: 'Th'expense of spirit in...

...sense of ease in pronunciation). All are exemplified in Pope's famous exercise 'An Essay on Criticism': When Ajax strives some rock's vast weight to throw. The line too lahours, and the words move slow; Not so, when swift Camilla scours the plain, Flies o'er th'unbendmg...

...or the genius of the writer. A single instance may suffice to let this idea in the clearest light: When Ajax strives some rock's vast weight to throw, The line too labours, and the words move slow.23 So will they in the expression of a deep and heavy affliction: And in this harsh world draw...

...(1711), Pope evoked Camilla as an image defining grace and fleetness of movement in verse: When Ajtu strives, some Rock's vast Weight to throw. The Line too labours, and the Words move slaw; Not so, when swift Camilla scours the Plain, Flies o'er th'unbending Corn, and skims along the...

...harmony' like Pope's is not true musical poetry but only description. He does not admire such passages as When Ajax strives some rock's vast weight to throw The line too labours and the words move slow. For precisely the same reason Beattie attacked Handel for 'imitating in a trifling way' in his setting...