English poetry -- History and criticism; Poetry -- Early works to 1800
Their Grammarians made a great multitude of feete, I wot not to what huge
number, and of so many sizes as their wordes were of length, namely sixe
sizes, whereas indeede, the metricall feete are but twelve in number,
wherof foure only be of two times, and eight of three times, the rest
compounds of the premised two sorts, even as the Arithmeticall numbers
aboue three are made of two and three. And if ye will know how many of
these feete will be commodiously received with vs, I say all the whole
twelve, for first for the foote, _spondeus_ of two long times ye haue
these English words _mo-rni-ng, mi-dni-ght, mi-scha-unce_, and a number
moe whose ortographie may direct your iudgement in this point: for your
_Trocheus_ of a long and short ye haue these words _ma-ne`r, bro-ke`n,
ta-ke`n, bo-die`, me-mbe`r_, and a great many moe if there last sillables
abut not vpon the consonant in the beginning of another word, and in these
whether they do abut or no _wi-tti`e, di-tti`e, so-rro`w, mo-rro`w_, &
such like, which end in a vowell for your _Iambus_ of a short and a long,
ye haue these words [_re`sto-re_] [_re`mo-rse_] [_de`si-re_] [_e`ndu-re_]
and a thousand besides. For your foote _pirrichius_ or of two short
silables ye haue these words [_ma`ni`e_] [_mo`ne`y_] [_pe`ni`e_]
[_si`lie`_] and others of that construction or the like: for your feete of
three times and first your _dactill_, ye haue these words & a number moe
_pa-ti`e`nce, te-mpe`ra`nce, wo-ma`nhea`d, io-li`ti`e, dau-nge`ro`us,
du-eti`fu`ll_ & others. For your _molossus_, of all three long, ye haue a
member of wordes also and specially most of your participles actiue, as
_pe-rsi-sti-ng, de-spo-ili-ng, e-nde-nti-ng_, and such like in
ortographie: for your _anapestus_ of two short and a long ye haue these
words but not many moe, as _ma`ni`fo-ld, mo`ni`le-sse, re`ma`ne-nt,
ho`li`ne-sse_. For your foote _tribracchus_ of all three short, ye haue
very few _trissillables_, because the sharpe accent will aways make one of
them long by pronunciation, which els would be by ortographie short as,
[me`ri`ly`] [minion] & such like. For your foote _bacchius_ of a short &
two long ye haue these and the like words _trissillables_ [_la`me-nti-ng_]
[_re`que-sti-ng_] [_re`nou-nci-ng_] [_re`pe-nta-nce_] [_e`nu-ri-ng_]. For
your foote _antibacchius_, of two long and a short ye haue these words
[_fo-rsa-ke`n_] [_i-mpu-gne`d_] and others many: For your _amphimacer_
that is a long, a short and a long ye haue these words and many more
[_e-xce`lle-nt_] [_i-mi`ne-nt_] and specially such as be propre names of
persons or townes or other things and namely Welsh words; for your foote
_amphibracchus_, of a short, a long and a short, ye haue these words and
many like to these [_re`si-ste`d_] [_de`li-ghtfu`ll_] [_re`pri-sa`ll_]
[_i`nau-nte`r_] [_e`na-mi`ll_] so as for want of English wordes if your
eare be not to daintie and your rules to precise, ye neede not be without
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