English poetry -- History and criticism; Poetry -- Early works to 1800
[Sidenote: _Parenthesis_, or the Insertour]
Your first figure of tollerable disorder is [_Parenthesis_] or by an
English name the [_Insertour_] and is when ye will seeme for larger
information or some other purpose, to peece or graffe in the middest of
your tale an vnnecessary parcell of speach, which neuerthelesse may be
thence without any detriment to the rest. The figure is so common that it
needeth none example, neuerthelesse because we are to teache Ladies and
Gentlewomen to know their schoole points and termes appertaining to the
Art, we may not refuse ro yeeld examples euen in the plainest cases, as
that of maister _Diars_ very aptly.
_But now my Deere_ (_for so my loue makes me to call you still_)
_That loue I say, that lucklesse loue, that works me all this ill._
Also in our Eglogue intituled _Elpine_, which we made being but eightene
yeares old, to king _Edward_ the sixt a Prince of great hope, we surmised
that the Pilot of a ship answering the King, being inquisitiue and
desirous to know all the parts of the ship and tackle, what they were, &
to what vse they serued, vsing this insertion or Parenthesis.
_Soueraigne Lord (for why a greater name
To one on earth no mortall tongue can frame
No statelie stile can giue the practisd penne:
To one on earth conuersant among men.)_
And so proceedes to answere the kings question?
_The shippe thou seest sayling in sea so large, &c._
This insertion is very long and vtterly impertinent to the principall
matter, and makes a great gappe in the tale, neuerthelesse is no disgrace
but rather a bewtie and to very good purpose, but you must not vse such
insertions often nor to thick, nor those that bee very long as this of
ours, for it will breede great confusion to haue the tale so much
interrupted.
[Sidenote: _Histeron proteron_, or the Preposterous.]
Ye haue another manner of disordered speach, when ye misplace your words
or clauses and set that before which should be behind, _& e conuerso_, we
call it in English prouerbe, the cart before the horse, the Greeks call it
_Histeron proteron_, we name it the Preposterous, and if it be not too
much vsed is tollerable inough, and many times scarse perceiueable,
vnlesse the sence be thereby made very absurd: as he that described his
manner of departure from his mistresse, said thus not much to be misliked.
_I kist her cherry lip and tooke my leaue_:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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