=1. Poetry.= In poetry we have to chronicle the domination of the _heroic couplet_. This meter produced a close, clear, and almost prosaic style, as we have noticed in the work of Pope. Blank verse is still found in Young’s _Night Thoughts_. Another example of blank verse is found in the mock epic of =John Philips (1676–1708)= called _The Splendid Shilling_ (1703). The use of blank verse at this time is important, for it marks both a resistance to the use of the couplet and a promise of the revival of the freer forms of verse. The following is a fair example of the blank verse of the period. In style it is quite uninspired, and is philosophically dull, but it is metrically accurate and has a certain dignity and force. Amidst my list of blessings infinite Stands this the foremost, “That my heart has bled.” ’Tis Heaven’s last effort of goodwill to man; When pain can’t bless, Heaven quits us in despair. Who fails to grieve, when just occasion calls, Or grieves too much, deserves not to be blest; Inhuman, or effeminate, his heart: Reason absolves the grief, which reason ends. May Heaven ne’er trust my friend with happiness, Till it has taught him how to bear it well, By previous pain; and made it safe to smile! YOUNG, _Night Thoughts_ The _lyric_ still survives as a pale reflection of the Caroline species. A short specimen will suffice to show the facile versification and the lack of real passion that marks the treatment of the almost universal love-theme: Blessed as the immortal gods is he, The youth who fondly sits by thee, And hears and sees thee all the while, Softly speak, and sweetly smile. ’Twas this deprived my soul of rest, And raised such tumults in my breast; For while I gazed, in transport tossed, My breath was gone, my voice was lost. AMBROSE PHILIPS, _Sappho_ The only other kind of meter of any consequence is the _octosyllabic couplet_, which is largely employed in occasional and satirical compositions. Its style is neat, sharp, and dexterous, as can be observed in Swift’s and Prior’s verses. =2. Prose.= In prose the outstanding feature is the emergence of the middle style. Of this the chief exponent is Addison, of whom Johnson says, “His prose is of the middle style, always equable, and always easy, without glowing words and pointed sentences.” We now find established a prose suitable for miscellaneous purposes--for newspaper and political work, for the essay, for history and biography. The step is of immense importance, for we can say that with Addison the modern era of prose is begun.