ABSTRACT
One of the differences between mediocre prose and great prose is that great prose has fine rhythm. The reader may be surprised at the association of rhythm with prose. The rhythm of poetry consists, with a few exceptions already mentioned, of a regular pattern of stresses, varied so as to add interest but never so much as to obliterate the basic pattern; the rhythm of prose depends entirely on subtle variations. Readers may at least agree on the two main rhythmical differences from the Biblical passage: Miss Macaulay makes a much greater use of three and four-syllabled feet, with their lighter and less authoritative sound and the predominance of the rising rhythm common in English verse, since English is a language of many monosyllables, is much more marked in the Psalm, in which there are few trochees. The rising rhythm is, in general, heavier and more serious in prose than the falling rhythm.
