Excerpt from Elements and Science of English Versification It Is the desire of the author to create a greater love for poetry. I do not think it is possible to make great poets any more than it is possible to create great musicians, sculptors, artists, or orators. All must be born with the spark of genius inherent within the soul. I believe, however, that even those possessed of great genius may profit by the research of others, and frequently are induced to follow their art by suggestions and rules pointed out to them. To such who possess real genius from a poetic standpoint this work may be of benefit. Another class to be benefited are readers who love poetry and make a study of it, and yet fail to receive the benefits or see the beauties of true poetry simply because they fail to understand the technique. It is a pleasure to be able to scan critically that which we read. If, however, we are unable to criticise for ourselves the merits of a poem from every standpoint, we necessarily lose much of the real pleasure of the reading. To be able to tell the measure, the rhythm, and the number of feet a verse contains is in every sense a satisfaction to the reader of a poem; yet, not one-third of those who read poetry know anything whatever about measure, feet, or rhythm. They realize there is a certain jingle to the stanza that pleases them, and that is all they know about it. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.