_CHAP. VII._
_Of your Cadences by which your meeter is made Symphonicall
when they be sweetest and most solemne in a verse._
As the smoothenesse of your words and sillables running vpon feete of
sundrie qualities, make with the Greekes and Latines the body of their
verses numerous or Rithmicall, so in our vulgar Poesie, and of all other
nations at this day, your verses answering eche other by couples, or at
larger distances in good [_cadence_] 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 [_concord_.] And the whole cadence is contained sometime in one
sillable, sometime in two, or in three at the most: for aboue the
_antepenultima_ there reacheth no accent (which is chiefe cause of the
cadence) vnlesse it be vsurpation in some English words, to which we giue
a sharpe accent vpon the fourth as, _Honorable, matrimonie, patrimonie,
miserable_, 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, _Agillitie, facillitie, subiection, direction_,
and these bissilables, _Tender, slender, trustie, lustie, 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 accompted the sweeter Musickes.
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