O'er shields, and helms, and helme'd heads he rode,
Of thrones, and mighty Seraphim prostrate
According to the metrical accent, the last word must be pronounced
"pros-trate'." But according to the authorized pronunciation it is
"pros'trate. Which shall yield, the poet or established usage? Certainly
not the latter.
Some writers advise a compromise of the matter, and that the word should
he pronounced without accenting either syllable. Sometimes this may be
done, but where it is not practiced, the prosaic reading should be
preserved.
In the following examples, the words and syllables which are improperly
accented or emphasized in the poetry, are marked in italics. According to
the principle stated above, the reader should avoid giving them that
pronunciation which the correct rending of the poetry would require, but
should read them as prose, except where he can throw off all accent and
thus compromise the conflict between the poetic reading and the correct
reading. That is, he must read the poetry wrong, in order to read the
language right.