English Verse

e degrees, as he recognized them, by the figures 2, 1, 0, written underneath.

Of man's first disobedience, and the fruit 0 2 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 2

Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 2 0 2

Brought death into the world, and all our woe, 1 2 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 2

With loss of Eden, till one greater man 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 2

Restore us, and regain the blissful seat, 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 2

Sing, heavenly Muse, that, on the secret top 2 2 0 2 1 0 0 2 0 1

Of Horeb or of Sinai, didst inspire 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 2

That shepherd, who first taught the chosen seed 1 2 0 0 2 2 0 2 0 2

In the beginning, how the heavens and earth 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 2 0 2

Rose out of chaos.[2] 2 0 0 2 0

It is worthy of note that the secondary accent seems originally to have been a more important factor in English verse than it is commonly considered to be in modern periods. In Anglo-Saxon verse the combination of a primary stress, a secondary stress, and an unstressed