t
| ^ | ^| ^ |
| e e e | e e e| e e e [e] |
O'er the grave where our he ro we bur[ied]."

In reading this the first time, a person is not likely to notice that
there are three feet in it containing but two syllables. The rhythm is
perfectly smooth, and cannot be called irregular. The accent remains
on the last syllable of the foot.

In the following selection from "Evangeline," trochees are substituted
for dactyls, yet there is no break in the rhythm. It does not seem in
the least irregular.

| ^ | ^ | ^ |
| q e | e e e | q e |
"Be hind them followed the watch-dog,
| ^ | ^ | ^ | ^ | ^ | ^
| q e | e e e| e e e | e e e | e e e | q e |
Patient, full of im portance, and grand in the pride of his instinct,
Walking from side to side with a lordly air, and superbly
Waving his bushy tail, and urging forward the stragglers."

These examples are enough to illustrate the fact that one kind of foot
may be substituted for another and not make the rhythm feel irregular.
So long as the accent is not changed from the first syllable to the
last, or from the last to the first, there is no jar in the flow of
the lines. _The trochee and the dactyl are interchangeable; and the
iambus and the anapest are interchangeable._

We may take a step further. There are many times when some sudden
change of thought, some strong emotion forces a poet to break the
smooth rhythm, that the verses may harmonize with his feeling. Such a
variation is like an exclamation or a dash thrown into prose. The
following is taken from "Annabel Lee." The regular foot has the accent
on the last syllable. It is anapestic, in tetrameters and trimeters.
But note the shudder in the third line when the accent is changed on
the word "chilling." The music and the thought are in perfect harmony.

"And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
| ^ | ^ | ^ | ^ |
|e q | e q |e e e | q e |
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsman came
And bore her away from me
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea."

Another beautiful example is found in t