This verse of the early Mystery Plays and connected forms of the drama shows an extraordinary variety of measures. In general, the effort of the writers seems to have been to show some artistic ingenuity of structure, and at the same time keep to the free popular dialogue verse which was associated with the plays. We find, therefore, tumbling verse, alexandrines, septenaries, and intricate strophic forms, all commonly written with slight regard for syllable-counting principles. FOOTNOTES: [8] There is a single well-known exception: the Anglo-Saxon poem known as _Deor's Lament_, which is divided into irregularly varying strophes, all ending with the same refrain. (See ten Brink's _English Literature_, Kennedy translation, vol. i, p. 60.) See also on the strophic formation of the First Riddle of Cynewulf, an article by W. W. Lawrence, in _Publications of the Mod. Lang. Assoc._, N.S. vol. x. p. 247. [9] Gascoigne, in his _Notes of Instruction_ (1575), mentions this form of stanza as "a royall kinde of verse, serving best for grave discourses," a statement in which he is followed by King James in his _Reulis and Cautelis_ (1585). Puttenham, in the _Arte of English Poesie_ (1589), speaks of the stanza as "the chiefe of our ancient proportions used by any rimer writing any thing of historical or grave poeme, as ye may see in Chaucer and Lidgate." (Arber Reprint, p. 80.) [10] The appendage to a stanza, based on one or more short lines, is sometimes called a "bob-wheel." See Guest's _History of English Rhythms_, Skeat ed., pp. 621 ff., for an account of various forms of these "wheels." IV. TONE-QUALITY The quality of the sounds of the words used in verse, although in no way concerned in the rhythm, is an element of some importance. The sound-quality may be used in either of two ways: as a regular coördinating element in the structure of the verse, or as a sporadic element in the beauty or melody of the verse. A. AS A STRUCTURAL ELEMENT In this capacity, similar qualities of sound indicate coördinated parts of the verse-structure, thus emphasizing the idea of similarity (corresponding to that of symmetry in arts expressed in space) which is at the very basis of rhythmical composition. Obviously, the similarity may exist between vowel sounds, consonant sounds, or both; more specifically, it is found either in initial consonants, in accented vowels, or in accented vowels plus final consonants. Properly speaking, the term Rime is applicable to all three cases; the first being distinguished as initial rime or Alliteration (German _Anreim_ or _Stabreim_); the second as Assonance (_Stimmreim_), the third as complete Rime (_Vollreim_). English usage commonly reserves the term Rime for the third class. i. _Assonance_