Prose Rhythms

Extract

The subject of prose rhythms is an ancient one. Even without going back of English usage, we find prose rhythms consciously developed, and consequently suggesting some sort of mature theory, as early as the time of Elizabeth. The rhythms of Bacon may be Ciceronian, and those of the King James Bible the habits of the translators, many of whom for the better part of a lifetime had been chanting, or half chanting, the Scriptures in their pulpits. But Lyly's rhythms are a deliberate thing, one is tempted to say, in his case, a premeditated crime. Sir Thomas Browne's rhythms a little later are plainly conscious. With De Quincey the usage has become an art with rules and classified practices.