Sixteen Experimental Investigations from the Harvard Psychological Laboratory - Hugo Münsterberg (best life changing books txt) 📗
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not by combining the records of each subject, but by combining all the
stanzas of a single type, in order to eliminate individual
peculiarities.
TABLE VII.
Verse pauses in unrhymed stanzas, together with the foot pause
within the verse. Length of last foot, together with the
average foot within the verse:
Average first Last foot Average of first Verse Pause.
3 feet of verse. of verse. 3 foot pauses
of verse.
Iambs:
36 56.5 24 45.5
57 122 35 100
68.5 125 45 10263.5 111.5 42 93
63.5 117.5 39 93.5
66 135 42 110
53.5 59 40 45 60 76 45 6156.5 68 41 54
55.5 56 39 4153 53.5 37 41.5
56 73 34 45
85 98 56 54
39 50 26.5 36
37 43 17 30
42.5 45 28 30
38.5 49 26 36 40 79 26 5531 72.5 21 55
33 66 23 54
33 76 22 64
Dactyls, catalectic:
56 63 (The pauses cannot be
60 62 compared because of the
55 66 omission of elements in
51.5 76 the final foot.)
37 40
55 58.5
53 59.5
40 73
38 65
37.5 56 37 73Throughout the series of measurements made the accented element was
nearly always longer, and in no case did the accent fail to increase
the length of the sonant. Ebhardt’s suggestion that there are two
significant parts in each foot-element, viz., sonant and pause, does
not seem good. Although the sonant is much longer when accented, the
ratio between the sonant and the following interval is not definite.
An examination of thirty-two stanzas of unrhymed iambic and dactylic
(catalectic) tetrameters (cf. Table VII.) shows that the verse pause
is always at least one fourth larger than the foot pause. In the
unrhymed stanzas the verse pause varies widely, and may be as large as
three times the foot pause. A pause longer than the foot pause is
absolutely essential to the unity of the verse. All sorts of ratios
are presented; evidently the verse pause is not a function of the foot
pause.
The next table (Table VIII.) shows a variety of different dynamic
shadings in the verse. It is noteworthy that in these nonsense verses
the type is uniform throughout the stanza. Representing the
intensities by curves similar to those used by the subjects in
listening to rhythms, we have the forms shown in Fig. 6 (a).
The general curve is like that in Fig. 6(b).
[Illustration: FIG. 6.]
When a special emphasis is prescribed on some particular accent in the
verse, the type becomes invariable, not only in each stanza, but for
all stanzas of all subjects.
The records show that the accent is produced in a variety of ways.
One, for example, gets the accent by a slight increase in intensity,
but especially by a pause following the sonant.
TABLE VIII.
THE INTENSITY RELATIONS WITHIN THE TOTAL, UNRHYMED VERSE.
UNRHYMED IAMBIC TETRAMETERS.
Average
Intensities. length Length
‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ of first of last
- - - - 3 sonants. sonant.
Ha. 2 5 4 5 2 4 3 6 31 31s
4 4 2 4 2 5 3 7 33 36s
2 5 3 4 1 5 3 9 32 29s
2 4 2 5 2 5 3 7 31 22s
3 5 1 5 3 4 3 5 37 35s
2 5 2 4 2 4 3 6 35 27s
2 4 2 4 2 4 2 6 38 22s
1 4 3 4 1 5 3 6 34 23s
Hu. 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 5 25 33
5 5 5 5 5 5 5 6 26 32
5 5 5 4 5 5 5 5 19 33
5 5 5 6 8 9 8 9 28 50
9 9 8 9 9 9 9 8 43 51
9 7 8 7 7 8 9 10 48 45s
6 7 7 7 6 7 6 7 43 43s
6 6 5 6 4 7 7 8 36 50
G. 9 14 7 14 4 12 6 10 20 25
7 12 7 14 7 10 6 10 16 26
7 12 6 11 4 12 5 10 17 26
6 13 6 11 1 9 7 12 16 26
10 8 7 30 6 15 7 16 18 25
7 14 8 12 6 15 10 13 15 28
7 16 9 15 4 14 7 12 16 25
7 15 7 13 5 13 6 12 17 25
In verses marked ‘s’ the last sonant is shorter than the average of
the preceding sonants.
UNRHYMED IAMBIC TETRAMETERS: PRESCRIBED ACCENT ON THE THIRD FOOT.
‘
/ — / — / — / —
Mc. Couplets. 4 6 6 7 4 6 4 4
5 8 5 6 2 12 8 5
4 6 5 10 4 11 5 3
4 6 5 10 4 10 4 4
7 11 5 9 9 15 5 5
5 19 20 22 21 24 6 6
12 22 16 22 20 22 8 7
12 22 14 31 10 26 6 7
Ha. Couplets. 4 7 4 8 8 9 5 7
5 7 4 6 6 8 2 7
2 6 2 6 5 6 3 6
2 7 3 6 2 10 3 4
3 7 3 7 4 6 4 6
4 5 3 6 4 7 2 6
5 7 1 6 4 8 2 5
2 7 3 5 3 7 2 6
UNRHYMED IAMBIC TETRAMETERS: PRESCRIBED ACCENT ON THE SECOND FOOT.
‘
/ — / — / — / —
Mc. Couplets. 13 22 22 30 22 18 15 18
11 20 22 26 15 19 15 10
10 25 20 26 20 24 12 23
10 19 17 26 19 11 9 10
12 23 18 26 22 17 10 15
8 23 20 27 16 22 15 16
12 23 26 30 22 21 10 17
14 28 26 34 11 28 11 21
Ha. Couplets. 6 9 4 12 4 5 3
4 5 4 12 1 5 2 5
3 5 3 12 2 5 2 6
1 6 4 15 1 6 2 7
- 15 3 12 - 8 - 5
- 6 4 12 - 7 - 5
- 7 - 7 4 13 - 4
- 6 3 13 - 5 - 4
G. Couplets. 9 19 11 20 4 12 3 10
5 13 6 16 5 10 6 11
8 16 10 18 5 10 6 11
6 12 6 16 6 10 6 10
8 16 13 19 5 13 8 12
9 17 11 19 3 10 6 12
9 16 9 18 6 10 7 9
7 15 7 15 5 10 5 10
Frequently the special accent seems to be made by a contrast between
the accented foot and the feet which follow. In most cases the
influence of the special accent is to be seen, not merely within the
accented foot itself, but both before and after the accented foot.
Often the appearance under the microscope is very striking; the
sonants of the feet, both accented and unaccented, increase to the
special accent and then decrease in a regular crescendo—diminuendo
form. Much of this is not shown by the mere measurements.
[Illustration: FIG. 7]
[Illustration: FIG. 8 Iambic Tetrameter Verse
(with the accent on the second foot)]
In general the special accent may he said to be the climax of the
verse movement. It is the crest of the wave, and, as noted above, the
dynamic shading is not always made by an increase up to the accent,
nor by a stress on a special accent, but by a sharp diminuendo
immediately following the accent. A study of the phonograph record
brings out these forms of shading, especially when the record is
repeated slowly, exaggerating the dynamic variations and giving an
opportunity for more careful observation.
Within the verse the general form of the syllable as it appears in the
mass of closely written vibrations, often varies, but nearly always
shows a square end. Several very common shapes are noticed and appear
in the record as (1) ‘truncated cones,’ (2) ‘boxes,’ and (3)
‘truncated spindles.’ (See Fig. 7.)
With the particular syllable used, ‘ta,’ the beginning of curve form
was usually square and abrupt (4), and not gradual (5), although a few
of the latter type are found (‘spindle’).
One syllable form has an especial interest, because of its bearing on
the problem of ‘finality’ feeling at the close of the verse. At the
close of each verse, whether with or without rhyme, the syllable form
is always a ‘cone’ (6) (cf. Fig. 8). Of about 600 verses measured not
more than 15 are exceptions to this rule. Of these 15 exceptions 10
are under special conditions and confirm the hypothesis that this form
is related to the finality process. The form very rarely occurs within
the verse, and when it does it is usually before some cæsura, or under
unusual conditions.
This ‘cone’ form of the closing syllable of the verse indicates a
falling of the intensity of the voice. It is often, though not always,
associated with a fall in the pitch, showing relaxation of the vocal
cords. It seems to be an indication of the dying out of the intensity
factor, a sinking of the tension, at the close of the verse. In the
case of unrhymed verses, with long verse pause, the cone is often very
much elongated, and it is quite impossible to say where the sound
ceases.
Special accentuation of the long syllable of the foot increases the
length of the sonant, of the accented element, and of the entire foot.
There is probably a slight increase of the total length of an
accented verse as compared with the similar unaccented, but no
calculations were made to show that point. This is quite in accord
with other results (Meumann, Ebhardt). This special accentuation is
connected with an increased mean variation of the time values, as
noted above. It is in that sense a ‘disturbing factor.’
TABLE IX.
VERSE PAUSES (INCLUDING FINAL SONANT) TOGETHER WITH THE AVERAGE OF THE
CORRESPONDING ELEMENT WITHIN THE VERSE.
Average long Verse pause Verse pause Verse pause
element of of 1st verse of 2d verse of 3d verse
first 3 feet. of stanza. of stanza. of stanza.
End Rhymes.
Mc. 26 34 104a 35
45 45a 80b 80a
31 33 64a 36
41 52a 51b 75a
Ha. 41 44a 44 45a
43 47a 43b 46a
39 41a 49b 46a
43 46a 45b 45a
36 44 41a 53
35 44a 58a 38b
33 40 73a ×30
Hu. 28 ×25a 50 28a
Feminine Rhymes.
Hu. 18 21a 37a 19b
19 20a 22a 16b
19 21a 21a 16b
Mc. 36 72a 64 51a
36 ×32 41a 40
22 22a ×18 29a
Ha. 27 31a 44b 28a
36 79 ×30 40
30 36 79a 30b
31 38 50a 36
32 39a 42 40a
Am. 34 70 95a 85
35 73a 94 89a
30 45 47a 86
28 54 53a 70
G. 19 64a 64 79a
19 73a 83b 76a
21 81 67a —
19 61 83a 79
The rhymes are marked ‘a’ and ‘b’; e.g., couplets a, a, b, b,
etc. Verse pauses in italics are equal to the foot pause; those
marked ‘x’ are less than the foot pause.
3. Modification of the Normal Form of
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