Description

Abstract: The principal finding of this study is quite apparent: the Great Invocation is metered verse. Depending on the rules and assumptions one makes in scanning the lines, we can conclude quite confidently that the all lines are iambic or that they are a balance of iambic and trochaic. A second finding of this study is that the poetic form of the Invocation, i.e. the structure and meter of its lines, reinforces the meaning of the words. This is made most apparent in the final chapters where combinations and constructions of stressed words and syllables are discussed. Taken together, these two findings suggest that the above features are present by design rather than by accident. They strongly support the conclusion that a very skilled hand was at work in the creation of this Word of Power. Perhaps the best way for readers to appreciate this is to consider the fate of meter and form resulting from recent attempts to ‘adapt’ the Invocation to reflect politically-correct sensibilities. Applying the rules of scansion used in this analysis to any of the widely-circulated ‘adaptations’ will underscore just how easily the delicate symmetry and rhythm of the Invocation can be distorted.