A History of English VersificationSchipper, J. (Jakob)
History
A History of English Versification
Schipper, J. (Jakob)
English language -- Versification; English poetry -- History and criticism
_Sitteþ alle stílle | and hérkneþ to mé:
Þe kýng of Alemáigne, | bi mi léauté,
Þrítti þousent pound | áskede hé
Forte máke þe pées | in þé countré,
Ant só he dùde móre.
Ríchard,
þah þou be éuer tríchard,
Trícchen shàlt þou néuer mòre._
In the following stanzas of this poem the four-beat rhythm, although
rarely marked by regular alliteration, is (in the main part or 'frons')
still more distinctly recognizable, in spite of several rhythmically
incorrect lines.
Second hemistichs of the type C1 are not infrequent, e.g. _opon
swývýng_ 9, _sire Édwárd_ 46, _o þy lýárd_ 47. Lines 5 and 7 are of a
two-beat rhythm, l. 8 probably as well (cf. our scansion).
There is a decided similarity in regard to structure and versification
between this stanza and that of a poem in Wright's _Pol. Songs_, p.
153, although the long lines are divided in the middle by interlaced
rhyme. This may be illustrated by its second stanza:
_Nou haþ =p=rúde þe =p=rís | in éuervche =p=láwe,
By mony =w=ýmmon o=w=ís | y =s=úgge mi =s=áwe.
For ȝef a =l=ády =l=ýue ìs | =l=éid after =l=áwe,
Vch a strúmpet þat þer ís | such =d=ráhtes wol dráwe.
In prúde
Vch a =s=créwe wol hire =sh=rúde,
Þoh he nábbe nout a smók | hire fóule ers to húde._
There is no line here corresponding to l. 5 of the preceding poem.
Otherwise, however, the _cauda_ of this poem is of a similar structure
to that of the preceding one, at least in this and possibly in the
following stanzas, whereas the last line of the first stanza has a
two-beat rhythm, and in the others the last lines probably are to be
scanned with three beats. The second line of the _cauda_ of the first
stanza of this poem belongs to type C. Another poem (Wright's _Polit.
Songs_, p. 155; Böddeker, _P.L._ no. iv) shows a very artificial form of
stanza, either corresponding to the formula _a a₄ b₂ c c₄ b₂ d d₄ b₂ e
e₄ b₂ f f g g g f₂_ (if we look upon the verses as four-beat and
two-beat lines, which the poet probably intended), or corresponding to
the formula _a a₄ b₃ c c₄ b₃ d d₄ b₃ e e₄ b₃ f f g g g f₂_ (if we look
upon the _frons_ as consisting of ordinary tail-rhyme-stanza lines of
four and three even-beat measures).
The four- and two-beat cadence of the verses comes out still more
clearly in the stanzas of another poem (Wright's _Pol. Songs_, p. 187;
Ritson, _Anc. Songs_, i. 51; Böddeker, _P.L._ no. v), the rhymes of
which follow the scheme _a a a₄ b₂ c c c₄ b₂_ (extended
tail-rhyme-stanzas). Some of its long lines, it is true, admit of being
read as even-beat verses of three measures, e.g. _and béo huere
chéuentéyn_ 20, _and móni anóþer swéyn_ 24, but the true scansion in all
probability is _and béo huere chéuenteȳ̀n_ (or _chèuentéyn_): _ant
móni anòþer swéyn_, in conformity with the scansion of the following
lines _to cóme to parís: þourh þe flóur de lís_ 52-6, or _wiþ éorl and
wiþ knýht: with húem forte fýht_ 124-8.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account