)))) molusses, anapost, amphibrach, anapost & 2 antibachics. 7. No. 3. The following, one of the concluding stanzas of a beautiful little poem, which is a critique upon the work from which the first has been selected; is from the pen of a celebrated living author named Meeripenne. හොද හොඳහපඉමෙයි කියාලාපස මී මඳ මදවරදක්නාත් වුයක් දැන් කොයින්දයි : açomówiУ§. ɔr douassie jos:di dou "I do indeed esteem him as a clever writer: but what is there free from fault? Do not you see even in the Lotus (the nelumbium speciosum), whose glowing flower is so sweet, that its stalk is full of thorns?" In this species of Poetry, as in the above stanzas, every line must not only contain the same number of lagu and guru, but those several sounds must uniformly correspond in all the four lines. Thus each of the lines in the above selection contains 15 syllabic instants, of which 7 are guru, and 8 lagu: and they are uniform. * Prosodially a long letter is equal to an [] silent consonant together with the vowel by whose assistance that al letter is sounded-ride infra. The rule for the construction of the above, which is named Malineè, is the following: න නමය යයුතේයං මාලිනිභොගිලොකෛඃ Two tibrachs, one molossus, and two bachics, with a pause after the eighth and fifteenth syllables, comprise the Malinee versification. The very rule serves as an example. It must, however, be borne in mind, that in this species of poetry the last sound or syllable must always be a guru. This distinguishes the Elu-sloka from the real Singhalese poetry, which may end with either a short or long sound, and need only have, except in one or two species, an equal number of syllabic instants: i. e. regarding a long sound or the syllable of and sound as being equal to two short; as in the following selection from the Buduguna' lankare. සමතැස් මුනිඳු පිරින විවස පටන්ල දෙදහස් පසසක් අව්රුදු වරුනස ද දිය ගොස් පැතිර බුවනෙක බුජ5 රිඳුස ද පිරිව ස් තුනෙහි සිරිලක රජ බිසේල ද ද "Upon the completion of 2015 years from the era of the death of the omniscient, supreme, intelligent (Budha), and 3 years since the installation into regal office, in prosperous Lanka, of King Buwanekabahu of worldly renown: 99 It will be perceived from the above, that a return of the same music in all the lines is not essential to Singhalese Poetry; although it would greatly add to the solemnity of compositions. The writer has been successful in this in the following Elegy to the memory of a friend, who lately met a watery grave: සිත බටහිම මිතුරා එනමගබලමි න්න සොරා This class, which is of the 'syllabic metre,' comprises poetry from 2 to 28 feet. "Whilst watching the return of the friend of my heart, (and) inquiring from people after his health, the angel of death did at Wellipenne snatch him away by stealth, unmindful of our grief!" We have said that except in one or two species of Poetry, a stanza had an equal number of sounds in all the four lines. Of the exceptions the short common metre is one; but we cannot find any rule for its construction. From observation we have, however, clearly ascertained that the first line consists of 9 syllabic instants, the second 11, the third 9, and the fourth 14. "The peacocks and their mates in the mountainous forest, hearing the din of tumultuous torrents, and glistening with beauty, freely play about from hill to hill."-Kawminikondala. = = 11 Although out of place, we may here remark that the above stanza is so composed, as to be used in the following diagram without the repetition of eight of the letters found in all the lines.* This is a kind of alliteration, which may be denominated, the figurative, as contrasted with the syllabic and the literal, which we shall hereafter briefly notice. To enter fully into the subject of these puns would be to devote to it more than a fourth part of the space which we have prescribed for the entire work. m Besides the above species and the blank verse (of which we shall treat hereafter), there are three or four others, as far as we can remember, which have an inequality in the number of sounds or syllabic instants in the four lines; and these we presume are of recent introduction, having only met with a few in two of the modern poets. Dunuville Gajanayaka Nillame, and Kiramba Terunanse have both adopted them in their works. From the latter we select the following, the tune of which is very pleasing to the ear. EXAMPLE. "The row of long beautiful toes, like superb gold shells, ornament the feet: and the two feet greatly pleasing to the King of Love, are like the full-blown soft Lotus." Kirambe Terunanse. ; = 12+2 ; = 12+2 = 16 The next example has one word split into two, whereas in the preceding the noun is only removed from its adjective. This however is a poetical licence, for which we could hardly find authority; for it will be seen from a few remarks in Appendix C., that even a pause falling in the middle of a simple word renders the poetry inelegant* according to the rules of Prosody. කල් මුදුනත මල්කඩ මෙන් බැබලී "The fair Princess, like the soft and delicate Lotus, coveted as the full-blown Lotus by the bee-like King; and "Can any thing give us a more ludicrous idea than the practice of the ancients in sometimes splitting a word at the end of the line and commencing the next line with the latter part of the word? This must have been nearly as ridiculous as the following English verses, in imitation of this absurd practice Pyrrhus you tempt a danger high When you would steal from angry li- inglorious, For know the Romans, you shall find By virtue more and generous kind- victorious."-Francis. We also quote: "Gallium Rhenum, horribiles et ulti Mosque Britannos.”—Catullus, Od. 11, 12. |