Preface de Cromwell and Hernani

Je sais que de mes voeux — on lui promit V empire; Je sais que pour régner — elle vint dans VEpire.

It will be noticed that in the last line the mute e in elle counts as the eighth syllable in the line. If, however, a mute e within a line comes directly before another vowel sound, it does not count as a syllable. An example of this will be found in the following line, also from Andromaque:

Peut-on hair sans cesse f et punit-on toujours f

With this structure for the Alexandrine, it was practically impossible to recite the lines without a swing and rhythm which made all the speeches stilted, and untrue to life, however much of sonority and harmony they may have possessed. From this very fact it came that many of the pleasurable emotions aroused by this stately metre were due solely to the harmony of the lines, to tlieir musical effect. Skill in declamation was the actor's stock in trade, and long monologues were eagerly enjoyed, and all this to a certain degree represented the courtly, formal speech of the time. Even now one of these tragedies possesses a great power and charm in spite of its apparent artificial nature. But to Hugo a reform was necessary, — for a quicker action was needed a quicker speech, and he destroyed the old rigidity. To do this he introduced a free caesura, that is to say, one which need not always stand after the sixth syllable, as in the line,

Je ne sais. Vou>s devez avoir froid! Ce n'est rien; and he also advocated an occasional enjambement^ or