ABSTRACT
Metrical rules o f the kind proposed in the previous chapter constitute no more than a framework within which to locate and analyse rhythmic effects. They are intended to represent the way in which stretches of the English language are perceived as rhythmic forms, but they do not offer a means o f processing strings of syllables in a mechanical way to produce descriptions of their metrical structure. They could not be translated into a computer programme which would make possible a sifting of lines into metrical and unmetrical, or simple and complex - let alone good and bad. In other words, they rely for their application to English poetry on the experience and sensitivity of the user; what they offer the metrical analyst is a way of going about his task. Chapter 10 will provide some examples of the kind of statement about verse which they make possible.
