IV. He farther condenses his style by abbreviations and omissions, of
which some are discarded, but all warranted by authority: "in," "on,"
and "of," for instance, become "i'," "o'," and "o'." Pronouns, articles,
conjunctions, and prepositions are, on the same principle, occasionally
left out.
V. He treats consonants as the backbone of the language, and hence, as
the essential feature in a rhyme; and never allows the repetition of a
consonant in a rhyme to be modified by a change in the preceding vowel,
or by the recurrence of the rhyming syllable in a different word--or the
repetition of a consonant in blank verse to create a half-consonance
resembling a rhyme: though other poets do not shrink from doing so.[5]
VI. He seldom dilutes his emphasis by double rhymes, reserving
these--especially when made up of combined words, and producing a
grotesque effect--for those cases in which the meaning is given with a
modifying colour: a satirical, or self-satirical, intention on the
writer's part. Strong instances of this occur in "The Flight of the
Duchess," "Christmas Eve," and "Pacchiarotto."
VII. He always uses the measure most appropriate to his subject, whether
it be the ten-syllabled blank verse which makes up "The Ring and the
Book," the separate dramatic monologues, and nearly all the dramas, or
the heroic rhymed verse which occurs in "Sordello" and "Fifine at the
Fair;" or one of the lyrical measures, of which his slighter poems
contain almost, if not quite, every known form.[6]
VIII. He takes no liberties with unusual measures; though he takes any
admissible liberty with the usual measures, which will interrupt their
monotony, and strengthen their effect.
IX. He eschews many vulgarisms or inaccuracies which custom has
sanctioned, both in prose and verse, such as, "thou _wert_;" "better
than _them_ all;" "he _need_ not;" "he _dare_ not." The universal "I
_had_ better;" "I _had_ rather," is abhorrent to him.[7]
X. No prosaic turns or tricks of language are ever associated in his
verse with a poetic mood.