Prose Rhythm In English PDF Download

Excerpt from Prose Rhythm in English Cicero gives examples of perfect prose, in which it is impossible to vary the order without destroying the rhythm. He also attempted to give rules for composition, distinguishing between good and bad endings. Here he was not so successful. His examples agree but imperfectly with his own practice, and he has no coherent theory to propose. The one statement which is really fruitful, and which tends to emerge more and more clearly in subsequent writers, is that the chief ingredient in prose rhythm is the cretic. He laboured under the same difficulty as we do to-day. We know that, when we write, we choose a word or a collocation, because our ears tell us that it is right. Also, when we read a piece of perfect English, we are con scious of a bewitching rhythm, but we cannot tell wherein the charm resides. It is necessary to insist on this point, since many writers assume that the last word on Latin rhythm was said by Cicero, and turn deaf ears to all the results of modern analysis. They say, I will go as far as Cicero went, and not one step further. The modern method is not that of Cicero.' The answer is, 'quite true, but Cicero failed.' 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.