§ =82.= As in Greek and Latin metre, so also in the equal-measured rhythms of Middle and Modern English, it is a general law that the beginning or end of a metrical foot should, so far as possible, not coincide with the beginning or end of a word, but should occur in the middle, so that the individual feet may be more closely connected with each other. When this law is not observed, there arises what is technically called _diaeresis_, that is to say, the breaking up of the line into separate portions, which as a rule renders the verse inharmonious. On this account lines composed entirely of monosyllables are to be avoided. This law is more frequently neglected in Modern English poetry than in that of earlier times, because the rarity of inflexional endings makes its constant observance difficult. Even in Middle English poems, however, we often find lines, especially if they are short, which are composed of monosyllabic words only. These observations may be illustrated by the following examples: (_a_) Lines with diaeresis: _Ne ís no quéne so stárk ne stóur._ Wright's Spec. of Lyr. Poetry, p. 87, l. 4. _And hé was clád in cóote and hóod of gréne._ Chaucer, Prol. line 103. _Had cást him óut from Héaven with áll his hóst._ Milton, Parad. L. i. 37. _Had shóok his thróne. What thóugh the fíeld be lóst?_ ib. 105. (_b_) Lines without diaeresis: _Nou shrínkeþ róse and lýlie flour._ Wright's Spec. of Lyr. Poetry, p. 87, line 1. _And smále fówles máken mélodíe._ Chaucer, Prol. line 9. _And réassémbling óur afflícted pówers._ Milton, Parad. L. i. 186. § =83.= With regard to modulation, too, the lines with diaeresis differ from those without it. In lines with diaeresis all syllables or words with a rhythmic accent upon them are pronounced with nearly the same stress, while in lines without diaeresis the difference between the accented syllables is more noticeable. The two following examples taken from Milton's _Paradise Lost_ will serve to illustrate this, the difference of stress being indicated by different numbers under the accented syllables: _Had cást him óut from Héaven with áll his hóst_ 0 1 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 _And réassémbling óur afflícted pówers._ 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 3 0 2 As a general rule, the syllables which stand in an arsis are, just because they bear the metrical stress, of course more strongly accented than those which stand in a thesis.