Project Gutenberg's A History of English Versification, by Jakob Schipper This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: A History of English Versification Author: Jakob Schipper Release Date: July 29, 2013 [EBook #43352] Language: English Character set encoding: UTF-8 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A HISTORY OF ENGLISH VERSIFICATION *** Produced by KD Weeks, Jonathan Ingram and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net Transcriber’s Note The text includes a brief list of errata, prepared by the author or printer. The uncorrected text is shown here, but the change is annotated with mouseover text which containing the corrected value. The errata relating to p. 268 and the passages regarding Bulwer are themselves, it seems, errata. There are no such page references there. There are also a number of printer’s errors that were detected and corrected, which are also annotated using mouseover text. This is a translation from a German original. Where there are apparent printing anomalies, an edition of the original was consulted and corrections made here. Cited materials were also occasionally consulted. Please consult the more detailed notes at the end of this text for more details about corrections and other observations. The characters used for metrical notation include a 'metrical breve', which is not widely supported. However, the Cardo TrueType font set has been found to provide good results. Also, there are numerous instances of multiple diacritical marks for most of the verse examples, which indicate rhythms and stresses. These may not display consistently for all letters in all browsers. The cover image has been fabricated and is placed in the public domain. A HISTORY OF ENGLISH VERSIFICATION BY JAKOB SCHIPPER, Ph.D. PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH PHILOLOGY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF VIENNA MEMBER OF THE KAISERLICHE AKADEMIE DER WISSENSCHAFTEN, VIENNA HON. D.LITT. OXON.; HON. LITT.D. CANTAB. HON. LL.D. EDINBURGH AND ABERDEEN HONORARY MEMBER OF THE MODERN LANGUAGE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA OXFORD AT THE CLARENDON PRESS 1910 HENRY FROWDE, M.A. PUBLISHER TO THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD LONDON, EDINBURGH, NEW YORK TORONTO AND MELBOURNE PREFACE It is now more than twenty years since a reviewer of the author’s Englische Metrik, in three volumes, expressed the opinion that ‘an English translation of it would do a service to English philology’. At that time, however, it seemed doubtful whether such a voluminous work, which probably would have interested only a comparatively small circle of English scholars, would have found a market. Even in Germany, although the work was favourably reviewed, and although at the time when it appeared great interest was felt in metrical research, the sale was comparatively slow. Much livelier, on the other hand, was the demand for an abridged edition of it which appeared under the title Grundriss der englischen Metrik (Wien, 1895). It was therefore found possible, several years after its publication, to make arrangements with the Delegates of the Clarendon Press for an English edition of this smaller book. Unfortunately, however, the printing of the manuscript, which was submitted to the supervision of the late Professor York Powell, was delayed, first by the illness and the untimely death of that eminent scholar, and afterwards by other circumstances which it is not necessary to mention here. On the whole the English text of the present volume is a close rendering of the German book, except in the first few chapters, which have been somewhat more fully worked out. It may also be mentioned that one or two modern English poets who seemed to be unduly neglected in the German book have received a larger share of attention in the English edition. Some errors of the original work have, of course, also been corrected here. The treatment of the subject in this handbook is the same as in the author’s larger work. The systematic arrangement of the different kinds of verse in Book I, and of the varieties of stanzas in Book II, will enable the reader easily to find the appropriate place for any new forms of verse or stanza that may come in his way, and will also facilitate the use of the large German work, to which frequent references are given, for the benefit of those students who may desire more detailed information. From the Preface to the German edition of the present work some remarks on the accents, chiefly in Part II of Book I, may be repeated here in order to prevent misunderstanding. These accents on particular syllables in equal-measured rhythms are merely meant to facilitate the scansion of the verse according to the author’s view of its rhythmical movement, and to enable the student to apprehend more readily the precise meaning of the descriptions. They are by no means intended to dictate a schematic scansion to the reader, as it is obvious that the finer shades of the rhythm cannot be indicated by such a mode of accentuation. The safer and easier way undoubtedly would have been to put no accents at all; but this would have been less convenient for the reader, to whose own judgement it may be left in every case to be guided by the accents just so far as he may think proper. In making this statement, however, I may be allowed to mention that none of the English friends who kindly assisted me in revising my manuscript has found fault with my system of accentuation. My sincerest thanks for their kind help and advice are due to Dr. Francis J. Curtis, now Professor of English Philology in the Mercantile Academy at Frankfort on the Main, and in a still higher degree to Dr. James Morison, of Shotover Cottage, Headington Quarry, Oxford, Examiner in Sanskrit and German, both of them formerly Lectors of English in the University of Vienna. I am under equally great obligations to Dr. Henry Bradley, to whose care the final revision of the MS. was entrusted by the Delegates of the Clarendon Press, and who also had the great kindness to superintend the printing of it. To him I am indebted for several useful suggestions regarding the typographical arrangement, and still iii iv v more for his valuable help in regard to the style of the book. To the Delegates and the Secretary of the Clarendon Press I feel greatly obliged not only for undertaking the publication, but also for the patient consideration they have shown me during the slow progress of this work. J. SCHIPPER. Vienna, Feb. 6, 1910. CONTENTS BOOK I. THE LINE PART I. THE NATIVE METRE CHAPTER I GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE SCIENCE OF METRE AND THE STRUCTURE OF VERSE PAGE § 1. Uses of the study of English metre 1 2. Object of the science of metre 1 3. Definition of rhythm 2 4. Distinction between prose and poetry 3 5. Phonetic qualities of syllables 4 6. Definition and use of the word accent 4 7. Classification of accent 5 8. Marks indicating position of accent 8 9. Principles of versification and their terms 9 10. Rhyme; its twofold purpose 11 11. End-rhyme, or full-rhyme 12 12. Vocalic assonance 12 13. Alliteration 13 CHAPTER II THE ALLITERATIVE VERSE IN OLD ENGLISH § 14. General remarks 15 15. Theories on the metrical form of the alliterative line 15 16. The four-beat theory 16 17. The two-beat theory 19 18. Accentuation of Old English 24 19. The secondary accent 28 20. Division and metrical value of syllables 29 21. Structure of the whole alliterative line 30 22. The structure of the hemistich in the normal alliterative line 31 23. Number of unaccented syllables of the thesis 33 24. Order of the verse-members in the hemistich 35 Analysis of the Verse Types. vii I. Hemistichs of four members. 25. Type A, with sub-types A 1–3 36 26. Type B, with sub-types B 1, 2 41 27. Type C, with sub-types C 1–3 42 28. Type D, with sub-types D 1–4 42 29. Type E, with sub-types E 1, 2 43 II. Hemistichs of five members. 30. Type A*, with sub-types A* 1, 2; Type B*; Type C*; Type D*, with sub-types D* 1–3 44 31. Principles adopted in classification 45 32. Combination of hemistichs by means of alliteration 45 Principles of Alliteration. 33. Quality of the alliteration 46 34. Position of the alliterative words 48 35. Alliteration in relation to the parts of speech and to the order of words 50 36. Arrangement and relationship of verse and sentence 54 The Lengthened Verse. 37. The lengthened line; alliteration 55 38. The origin and structure of the lengthened verse 57 39. Examples of commonly occurring forms of the lengthened hemistich 59 Formation of Stanzas and Rhyme. 40. Classification and examples 62 CHAPTER III THE FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF THE FREER FORM OF THE ALLITERATIVE LINE IN LATE OLD ENGLISH AND EARLY MIDDLE ENGLISH A. Transitional Forms. § 41. Increasing frequency of rhyme 65 42. Combination of alliteration and rhyme 65 B. The ‘Proverbs of Alfred’ and Layamon’s ‘Brut’. 43. Development of the progressive form of the alliterative line 67 44. Nature and origin of the four-beat short-lined metre 69 45. Number of stresses 72 46. Analysis of verse-types 74 47. Extended types 75 48. Verse-forms rhythmically equivalent 78 C. The Progressive Form of the Alliterative Line, Rhymed Throughout. ‘King Horn.’ 49. Further development of the Layamon-verse 79 50. The metre of King Horn and its affinity to the alliterative line 82 51. Characteristics of King Horn and Layamon compared 84 CHAPTER IV THE ALLITERATIVE LINE IN ITS CONSERVATIVE FORM DURING THE FOURTEENTH AND FIFTEENTH CENTURIES vii A. the Alliterative Verse Without Rhyme. § 52. Homilies and lives of the saints in rhythmical prose. Poems in regular alliterative verse 85 53. Use and treatment of words in alliterative verse 87 54. Examples of alliteration 88 55. Comparison of Middle and Old English alliterative verse 90 56. The versification of Piers Plowman 93 57. Modification of forms in the North of England and in the Midlands 95 B. the Alliterative Line Combined With Rhyme. 58. Growing influence of verse formed on foreign models 97 59. Lyrical stanzas: four-beat and two-beat lines 97 60. Forms of structure and versification 99 61. Narrative verse 101 62. Relation between rhyme and alliteration 101 63. Features of alliterative-rhyming lines 105 64. Structures of the cauda 105 65. Two-beat lines in tail-rhyme stanzas 106 66. Rhyming alliterative lines in Mystery Plays 108 67. Alliteration in Moralities and Interludes 109 68. Four-beat scansion of Bale’s verses 110 69. Examples of the presence or absence of anacrusis in the two hemistichs 110 70. Entire tail-rhyme stanzas 113 71. Irregular tail-rhyme stanzas: Skeltonic verse 114 C. Revival of the Four-beat Alliterative Verse in the Modern English Period. 72. Examples from Gascoigne, Wyatt, Spenser, &c. 117 73. Attempted modern revival of the old four-beat alliterative line without rhyme 119 74. Examples of the development of the four-beat alliterative line in reversed chronological order 120 75. Summing-up of the evidence 124 PART II. FOREIGN METRES DIVISION I. THE FOREIGN METRES IN GENERAL CHAPTER V INTRODUCTION AND THE STRUCTURE OF VERSE § 76. Influence of French and Low Latin metres 126 77. The different kinds of line 127 78. The breaking up of long lines 128 79. Heroic verse; tail-rhyme staves 131 80. Different kinds of caesura 131 81. Causes of variation in the structure of metres of equal measures 133 CHAPTER VI VERSE-RHYTHM AND THE STRUCTURE OF VERSE ix § 82. Lines with and without diaeresis 135 83. Effect of diaeresis on modulation 136 84. Suppression of the anacrusis 137 85. Level stress, or ‘hovering accent’ 138 86. Absence of thesis in the interior of a line 139 87. Lengthening of a word by introduction of unaccented extra syllable 141 88. Inversion of rhythm 141 89. Disyllabic or polysyllabic thesis 143 90. Epic caesura 145 91. Double or feminine endings 146 92. Enjambement, or run-on line 147 93. Rhyme-breaking 148 94. Alliteration 149 CHAPTER VII THE METRICAL TREATMENT OF SYLLABLES § 95. General remarks on formative and inflexional syllables 151 96. Treatment of the unaccented e of words of three and four syllables in Middle English 152 97. Special remarks on individual inflexional endings 154 98. Treatment of -en in Middle and Modern English 155 99. The comparative and superlative endings -er, -est 156 100. The ending -est 157 101. The endings -eth, -es (’s) 158 102. The ending -ed (’d, t) 158 103. The ending -ed (-od, -ud) of the 1st and 3rd pers. sing. pret. and plur. pret. of weak verbs 159 104. The final -e in Middle English poetry 160 105. Examples of the arbitrary use of final -e 161 106. The final -e in later poetry of the North 162 107. Formative endings of Romanic origin 163 108. Contraction of words ordinarily pronounced in full 165 109. Amalgamation of two syllables for metrical purposes 166 110. Examples of slurring or contraction 167 111. Other examples of contraction; apocopation 168 112. Lengthening of words for metrical purposes 169 CHAPTER VIII WORD-ACCENT § 113. General remarks 171 I. Word-accent in Middle English. A. Germanic words. 114. Alleged difference in degree of stress among inflexional endings containing e 172 115. Accent in trisyllables and compounds 174 116. Pronunciation of parathetic compounds 175 x 117. Rhythmical treatment of trisyllables and words of four syllables 175 B. Romanic words. 118. Disyllabic words 177 119. Trisyllabic words 178 120. Words of four and five syllables 179 II. Word-accent in Modern English. 121. Romanic accentuation still continued 180 122. Disyllabic words 181 123. Trisyllabic and polysyllabic words 181 124. Parathetic compounds 182 DIVISION II. VERSE-FORMS COMMON TO THE MIDDLE AND MODERN ENGLISH PERIODS CHAPTER IX LINES OF EIGHT FEET, FOUR FEET, TWO FEET, AND ONE FOOT § 125. The eight-foot line and its resolution into four-foot lines 183 126. Examples of the four-foot line 183 127. Treatment of the caesura in four-foot verse 185 128. Treatment of four-foot verse in North English and Scottish writings 186 129. Its treatment in the Midlands and the South 187 130. Combinations of four-foot and three-foot verse in Middle English 188 131– 2. Freer variety of this metre in Modern English 188 133. Two-foot verse 190 134. One-foot verse 191 CHAPTER X THE SEPTENARY, THE ALEXANDRINE, AND THE THREE-FOOT LINE § 135. The septenary 192 136. Irregularity of structure of the septenary rhyming line as shown in the Moral Ode 193 137. Regularity of the rhymeless septenary verse of the Ormulum 193 138. The septenary with a masculine ending 194 139. The septenary as employed in early lyrical poems and ballads 195 140. Use of the septenary in Modern English 196 141– 4. Intermixture of septenaries, alexandrines, and four-beat lines 197 145, 146. Origin of the ‘Poulter’s Measure’ 202 147. The alexandrine: its first use 204 148. Structure of the alexandrine in Mysteries and Moral Plays 205 149. The alexandrine in Modern English 205 150. The three-foot line 206 CHAPTER XI xi THE RHYMED FIVE-FOOT VERSE § 151. Rhymed five-foot verse in Middle English 209 152. Sixteen types of five-foot verse 210 153. Earliest specimens of this metre 212 154. Chaucer’s five-foot verse; treatment of the caesura 213 155. Masculine and feminine endings; rhythmic licences 214 156. Gower’s five-foot verse; its decline 215 157. Rhymed five-foot verse in Modern English 216 158. Its use in narrative poetry and by Shakespeare 217 159. The heroic verse of Dryden, Pope, and later writers 218 DIVISION III. VERSE-FORMS OCCURRING IN MODERN ENGLISH POETRY ONLY CHAPTER XII BLANK VERSE § 160. The beginnings of Modern English poetry 219 161. Blank verse first adopted by the Earl of Surrey 219 162. Characteristics of Surrey’s blank verse 221 163. Further development of this metre in the drama 222 164. The blank verse of Shakespeare 223 165. Rhymed and unrhymed lines in Shakespeare’s plays 224 166. Numerical proportion of masculine and feminine endings 225 167. Numerical proportion of ‘weak’ and ‘light’ endings 225 168. Proportion of unstopt or ‘run-on’ and ‘end-stopt’ lines 226 169. Shakespeare’s use of the full syllabic forms of -est, -es, -eth, -ed 227 170. Other rhythmical characteristics of Shakespeare’s plays 228 171. Alexandrines and other metres occurring in combination with blank verse in Shakespeare 230 172. Example of the metrical differences between the earlier and later periods of Shakespeare’s work 232 173. The blank verse of Ben Jonson 233 174. The blank verse of Fletcher 234 175. Characteristics of Beaumont’s style and versification 235 176. The blank verse of Massinger 236 177. The blank verse of Milton 237 178. The dramatic blank verse of the Restoration 239 179. Blank verse of the eighteenth century 240 180. Blank verse of the nineteenth century 240 CHAPTER XIII TROCHAIC METRES § 181. General remarks; the eight-foot trochaic line 242 182. The seven-foot trochaic line 243 183. The six-foot trochaic line 244 184. The five-foot trochaic line 245 185. The four-foot trochaic line 246 xii 186. The three-foot trochaic line 246 187. The two-foot trochaic line 247 188. The one-foot trochaic line 247 CHAPTER XIV IAMBIC-ANAPAESTIC AND TROCHAIC-DACTYLIC METRES § 189. General remarks 249 I. Iambic-anapaestic Metres. 190. Eight-foot iambic-anapaestic verse 250 191. Seven-foot iambic-anapaestic verse 250 192. Six-foot iambic-anapaestic verse 251 193. Five-foot iambic-anapaestic verse 251 194. Four-foot iambic-anapaestic verse 252 195. Three-foot iambic-anapaestic verse 253 196. Two-foot iambic-anapaestic verse 253 197. One-foot iambic-anapaestic verse 254 II. Trochaic-dactylic Metres. 198. Eight-foot trochaic-dactylic verse 254 199. Seven-foot trochaic-dactylic verse 255 200. Six-foot trochaic-dactylic verse 255 201. Five-foot trochaic-dactylic verse 256 202. Four-foot trochaic-dactylic verse 256 203. Three-foot trochaic-dactylic verse 257 204. Two-foot dactylic or trochaic-dactylic verse 257 205. One-foot dactylic verse 258 CHAPTER XV NON-STROPHIC, ANISOMETRICAL COMBINATIONS OF RHYMED VERSE § 206. Varieties of this metre; Poulter’s measure 259 207– 8. Other anisometrical combinations 260 CHAPTER XVI IMITATIONS OF CLASSICAL FORMS OF VERSE AND STANZA § 209. The English hexameter 262 210. Structure of the hexameter 263 211. Elegiac verse; the minor Asclepiad; the six-foot iambic line; Phaleuciac verse; Hendecasyllabics; rhymed Choriambics 264 212. Classical stanzas:—the Sapphic metre; the Alcaic metre; Anacreontic stanzas 266 213. Other imitations of classical verses and stanzas without rhyme 267 BOOK II THE STRUCTURE OF STANZAS PART I CHAPTER I. DEFINITIONS xiii STANZA, RHYME, VARIETIES OF RHYME § 214. Structure of the stanza 270 215. Influence of lyrical forms of Provence and of Northern France on Middle English poetry 271 216. Classification of rhyme according to the number of the rhyming syllables: (1) the monosyllabic or masculine rhyme; (2) the disyllabic or feminine rhyme; (3) the trisyllabic, triple, or tumbling rhyme 272 217. Classification according to the quality of the rhyming syllables: (1) the rich rhyme; (2) the identical rhyme; (3) the broken rhyme; (4) the double rhyme; (5) the extended rhyme; (6) the unaccented rhyme 273 218. Classification according to the position of the rhyming syllables: (1) the sectional rhyme; (2) the inverse rhyme; (3) the Leonine rhyme or middle rhyme; (4) the interlaced rhyme; (5) the intermittent rhyme; (6) the enclosing rhyme; (7) the tail-rhyme 276 219. Imperfect or ‘eye-rhymes’ 278 CHAPTER II THE RHYME AS A STRUCTURAL ELEMENT OF THE STANZA § 220. Formation of the stanza in Middle English and Romanic poetry 279 221. Rhyme-linking or ‘concatenation’ in Middle English 280 222. The refrain or burthen; the wheel and the bob-wheel 280 223. Divisible and indivisible stanzas 281 224. Bipartite equal-membered stanzas 282 225. Bipartite unequal-membered stanzas 282 226. Tripartite stanzas 283 227. Specimens illustrating tripartition 284 228. The envoi 286 229. Real envois and concluding stanzas 286 PART II. STANZAS COMMON TO MIDDLE AND MODERN ENGLISH, AND OTHERS FORMED ON THE ANALOGY OF THESE CHAPTER III BIPARTITE EQUAL-MEMBERED STANZAS I. Isometrical Stanzas. § 230. Two-line stanzas 288 231. Four-line stanzas, consisting of couplets 288 232. The double stanza (eight lines of the same structure) 289 233. Stanzas of four isometrical lines with intermittent rhyme 290 234. Stanzas of eight lines resulting from this stanza by doubling 290 235. Stanzas developed from long-lined couplets by inserted rhyme 291 236. Stanzas of eight lines resulting from the four-lined, cross-rhyming stanza and by other modes of doubling 292 237. Other examples of doubling four-lined stanzas 293 238. Six-lined isometrical stanzas 294 239. Modifications of the six-lined stanza; twelve-lined and sixteen-lined stanzas 295 II. Anisometrical Stanzas. 240. Chief species of the tail-rhyme stanza 296 241. Enlargement of this stanza to twelve lines 297 xiv 242. Further development of the tail-rhyme stanza 298 243. Variant forms of enlarged eight and ten-lined tail-rhyme stanzas 298 244. Tail-rhyme stanzas with principal verses shorter than tail-verses 299 245. Other varieties of the tail-rhyme stanza 300 246. Stanzas modelled on the tail-rhyme stanza 300 247. Stanzas formed of two septenary verses 301 248. Analogical developments from this type 302 249. Eight-lined (doubled) forms of the different four-lined stanzas 302 250. Other stanzas of similar structure 303 CHAPTER IV ONE-RHYMED INDIVISIBLE AND BIPARTITE UNEQUAL-MEMBERED STANZAS I. One-rhymed and Indivisible Stanzas. § 251. Three-lined stanzas of one rhyme 305 252. Four-lined stanzas of one rhyme 306 253. Other stanzas connected with the above 307 II. Bipartite Unequal-membered Isometrical Stanzas. 254. Four-lined stanzas 308 255. Five-lined stanzas 308 256. Four-lined stanzas of one rhyme extended by the addition of a couplet 310 III. Bipartite Unequal-membered Anisometrical Stanzas. § 257– 8. Four-lined stanzas; Poulter’s measure and other stanzas 311 259. Five-lined stanzas 314 260. Shortened tail-rhyme stanzas 316 261. Six-lined stanzas 317 262. Seven-lined stanzas 319 263. Eight-, nine-, and ten-lined stanzas 320 264. The bob-wheel stanzas in the Middle English period 321 265. Bob-wheel stanzas of four-stressed rhyming verses 322 266. Modern English bob-wheel stanzas 323 CHAPTER V TRIPARTITE STANZAS I. Isometrical Stanzas. § 267. Six-lined stanzas 326 268. Seven-lined stanzas; the Rhyme Royal stanza 327 269. Eight-lined stanzas 329 270. Nine-lined stanzas 330 271. Ten-lined stanzas 331 272. Eleven-, twelve-, and thirteen-lined stanzas 332 II. Anisometrical Stanzas. 273– 4. Six-lined stanzas 333 xv 275. Seven-lined stanzas 335 276– 8. Eight-lined stanzas 337 279. Nine-lined stanzas 339 280– 1. Ten-lined stanzas 341 282. Eleven-lined stanzas 343 283. Twelve-lined stanzas 344 284. Thirteen-lined stanzas 345 285. Fourteen-lined stanzas 346 286. Stanzas of fifteen to twenty lines 347 PART III. MODERN STANZAS AND METRES OF FIXED FORM ORIGINATING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF THE RENASCENCE, OR INTRODUCED LATER CHAPTER VI STANZAS OF THREE AND MORE PARTS CONSISTING OF UNEQUAL PARTS ONLY § 287. Introductory remark 348 288. Six-lined stanzas 349 289. Seven-lined stanzas 351 290– 2. Eight-lined stanzas; the Italian ottava rima 352 293. Nine-lined stanzas 355 294. Ten-lined stanzas 355 295. Eleven-lined stanzas 356 296. Twelve-lined stanzas 356 CHAPTER VII THE SPENSERIAN STANZA AND THE FORMS DERIVED FROM IT § 297. First used in the Faerie Queene 358 298– 300. Imitations and analogous forms 359 CHAPTER VIII THE EPITHALAMIUM STANZA AND OTHER ODIC STANZAS § 301. The Epithalamium stanza 363 302. Imitations of the Epithalamium stanza 365 303– 5. Pindaric Odes, regular and irregular 366 CHAPTER IX THE SONNET § 306. Origin of the English sonnet 371 307. The Italian sonnet 371 308. Structure of the Italian form illustrated by Watts-Dunton 373 309. The first English sonnet-writers, Surrey and Wyatt 373 310. Surrey’s transformation of the Italian sonnet, and the form adopted by Shakespeare 374 xvi 311. Another form used by Spenser in Amoretti 375 312. The form adopted by Milton 375 313. Revival of sonnet writing in the latter half of the eighteenth century 376 314. The sonnets of Wordsworth 377 315. The sonnet in the nineteenth century 379 CHAPTER X OTHER ITALIAN AND FRENCH POETICAL FORMS OF A FIXED CHARACTER 316– 7. The madrigal 380 318– 9. The terza-rima 381 320– 1. The sextain 383 322. The virelay 385 323. The roundel 385 324. The rondeau 387 325. The triolet 388 326. The villanelle 388 327. The ballade 389 328. The Chant Royal 390 LIST OF EDITIONS REFERRED TO The quotations of Old English poetry are taken from Grein-Wülker, Bibliothek der Angelsächsischen Poesie, Strassburg, 1883–94. For the Middle English poets the editions used have been specified in the text. Most of the poets of the Modern English period down to the eighteenth century are quoted from the collection of R. Anderson, The Works of the British Poets, Edinburgh, 1795 (15 vols.), which is cited (under the title Poets) by volume and page. The remaining Modern English poets are quoted (except when some other edition is specified) from the editions mentioned in the following list. Arnold, Matthew. Poetical Works, London, Macmillan & Co., 1890. 8vo. Beaumont, Francis, and Fletcher, John. Dramatick Works, London, 1778. 10 vols. 8vo. Bowles, W. L. Sonnets and other Poems. London, 1802–3. 2 vols. 8vo. Browning, Elizabeth Barrett. Poetical Works. London, Chapman & Hall, 1866. 5 vols. 8vo. Browning, Robert. Poetical Works. London, Smith, Elder & Co., 1868. 6 vols. 8vo. Bulwer Lytton, Sir E. (afterwards Lord Lytton). The Lost Tales of Miletus. London, John Murray, 1866. 8vo. Burns, Robert. Complete Works, ed. Alexander Smith. London, Macmillan & Co., 1870. (Globe Edition.) Byron, Lord. Poetical Works. London, H. Frowde, 1896. 8vo. (Oxford Edition.) Campbell, Thomas. Poetical Works, ed. W.A. Hill. London, G. Bell & Sons, 1875. Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. Poems, ed. Derwent and Sara Coleridge. London, E. Moxon & Co., 1863. Cowper, William. Poetical Works, ed. W. Benham. London, Macmillan & Co., 1870. (Globe Edition.) Dryden, John. Comedies, Tragedies, and Operas. London, 1701. fol. —— —— Poetical Works, ed. W. D. Christie. London, Macmillan & Co., 1870. (Globe Edition.) Fletcher, John. See Beaumont. xvii Goldsmith, Oliver. Miscellaneous Works, ed. Prof. Masson. London, Macmillan & Co., 1871. 8vo. (Globe Edition.) Gorboduc, or Ferrex and Porrex, a Tragedy, by Thomas Norton and Thomas Sackville, ed. L. Toulmin Smith. (Englische Sprach- und Litteraturdenkmale des 16., 17. und 18. Jahrhunderts, herausgegeben von K. Vollmöller, I.) Heilbronn, Gebr. Henninger 1883. 8vo. Hemans, Felicia. The Works of Mrs. Hemans, with a Memoir of her life by her sister. Edinburgh, W. Blackwood & Sons, 1839. 7 vols. Herbert, George. Works, ed. R. A. Willmott. London, G. Routledge & Co., 1854. 8vo. Hymns, Ancient and Modern, for Use in the Services of the Church. Revised and Enlarged Edition. London, n.d. Jonson, Ben. Chiefly cited from the edition in Poets iv. 532–618 (see the note prefixed to this list); less frequently (after Wilke, Metr. Unters. zu B. J., Halle, 1884) from the folio edition, London, 1816 (vol. i), or from the edition by Barry Cornwall, London, 1842. A few of the references are to the edition of F. Cunningham, London, J.C. Hotten, n.d. (3 vols.) Keats, John. Poetical Works. London, F. Warne & Co. (Chandos Classics.) Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Poetical Works. Edinburgh, W. P. Nimmo. 8vo. (Crown Edition.) Lytton. See Bulwer Lytton. Marlowe, Christopher. Works, ed. A. Dyce. London, 1850. 3 vols. 8vo. —— —— Works, ed. F. Cunningham. London, F. Warne & Co., 1870. 8vo. Massinger, Philip. Plays, ed. F. Cunningham. London, F. Warne & Co., 1870. 8vo. Milton, John. Poetical Works, ed. D. Masson. London, Macmillan & Co., 1874. 3 vols. 8vo. —— —— English Poems, ed. R.C. Browne. Second Edition. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1872. 3 vols. 8vo. Moore, Thomas. Poetical Works. London, Longmans, 1867. 8vo. Morris, William. Love is Enough. Third Edition. London, Ellis & White, 1873. 8vo. Norton, Thomas. See Gorboduc. Percy, Thomas. Reliques of Ancient Poetry. London, H. Washbourne, 1847. 3 vols. 8vo. Poe, Edgar Allan. Poetical Works. London, Sampson Low, Son & Co., 1858. 8vo. Pope, Alexander. Poetical Works, ed. A. W. Ward. London, Macmillan & Co., 1870. 8vo. (Globe Edition.) Rossetti, Dante Gabriel. Poems. London, F. S. Ellis, 1870. Sackville, Thomas, and Norton, Thomas. See Gorboduc. Scott, Sir Walter. Poetical Works, ed. F. T. Palgrave. London, Macmillan & Co., 1869. 8vo. (Globe Edition.) Shakespeare, William. Works, ed. W. G. Clark and W. Aldis Wright. London and Cambridge, Macmillan & Co., 1866. 8vo. (Globe Edition.) Shelley, Percy Bysshe. Poetical Works. London, Chatto & Windus, 1873–1875. 3 vols. 8vo. (Golden Library.) Sidney, Sir Philip. Arcadia. London, 1633. fol. —— —— Complete Poems, ed. A. B. Grosart. 1873. 2 vols. Southey, Robert. Poetical Works. London, Longman, Orme, Brown, Green & Longmans, 1837. 10 vols. 8vo. Spenser, Edmund. Complete Works, ed. R. Morris. London, Macmillan & Co., 1869. 8vo. (Globe Edition.) Surrey, Henry Howard, Earl of. Poems. London, Bell & Daldy. 8vo. (Aldine Edition.) Swinburne, Algernon Charles. Poems and Ballads. Third Edition. London, J. C. Hotten, 1868. 8vo. —— —— Poems and Ballads, Second Series. Fourth Edition. London, Chatto & Windus, 1884. 8vo. —— —— A Century of Roundels. London, Chatto & Windus, 1883. 8vo. —— —— A Midsummer Holiday and other Poems. London, Chatto & Windus, 1884. 8vo. xix Tennyson, Alfred. Works. London, Kegan Paul & Co., 1880. 8vo. Thackeray, William Makepeace. Ballads and The Rose and the Ring. London, Smith, Elder & Co., 1879. 8vo. Tusser, Thomas. Five Hundred Pointes of Good Husbandrie, ed. W. Payne and S.J. Herrtage, English Dialect Soc., 1878. Wordsworth, William. Poetical Works, ed. W. Knight. Edinburgh, W. Paterson, 1886. 8 vols. 8vo. Wyatt, Sir Thomas. Poetical Works. London, Bell & Daldy. (Aldine Edition.) The references marked N. are to vol. ii. of The Works of Surrey and Wyatt, ed. Nott, London, 1815. 2 vols. 4to. ERRATA P. 268. In the references to Bulwer, for p. 227 read p. 147; for p. 217 read p. 140; for p. 71 read p. 45; for p. 115 read p. 73. P. 315, l. 14. For p. 123 read p. 78. P. 340, l. 34. For p. 273 read p. 72. P. 353, l. 15. For 89 read 5. P. 381, l. 12. For ii. 137–40 read Poetical Works, London, 1891, pp. 330–32. BOOK I. THE LINE PART I. THE NATIVE METRE CHAPTER I GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE SCIENCE OF METRE AND THE STRUCTURE OF VERSE § 1. The study of English Metre is an integral part of English Philology. It is indispensable to the investigator of the history of the language, since it supplies sometimes the only (or at all events the surest) means of restoring the older pronunciation of word-stems, and of inflexional terminations. In many cases, indeed, the very existence of such terminations can be proved only by the ascertained requirements of metre. As an aid to the study of English literature in its aesthetic aspects the science of metre is no less important. It exhibits the gradual development of the artistic forms of poetical composition, explains the conditions under which they took their rise, and by formulating the laws of their structure affords valuable help in the textual criticism of poems which have been transmitted in a corrupt or imperfect condition. § 2. The object of the science of metre is to describe and analyse the various rhythmical forms of speech that are characteristic of poetry in contradistinction to prose. Poetry is one of the fine arts, and the fine arts admit of a division into Plastic and Rhythmic; the Plastic arts comprehending Sculpture, Architecture, and Painting, the Rhythmic arts, on the other hand, comprehending Dancing, Music, and Poetry. The chief points of difference between these classes are as follows. In the first place, the productions of the Plastic arts can be enjoyed by the beholder directly on their completion by the artist without the interposition of any help, while those of the Rhythmic arts demand, after the original creative artist has done his work, the services of a second or executive artist, who is usually termed the performer, in order that these productions may be fully enjoyed by the spectator or hearer. A piece of music requires a singer or player, a pantomime a dancer, and poetry a reciter or actor. In early times the function of executive artist was commonly discharged by the creative artist himself. In the second place, the Plastic arts have no concern with the relations of time; a work of painting or sculpture presents to the beholder an unchanging object or represents a single moment of action. The Rhythmic arts, on the other hand, are, in their very essence, connected with temporal succession. Dancing implies a succession of movements of the human body, Music a succession of inarticulate sounds, Poetry a succession of articulate sounds or words and syllables. The Plastic arts, therefore, may be called the arts of space and rest, and the Rhythmic arts the arts of time and movement. In this definition, it must be remembered, the intrinsic quality of the movements in each of these rhythmical arts is left out of account; in the case of poetry, for instance, it does not take into consideration the choice and position of the words, nor the thought expressed by them; it is restricted to the external characteristic which these arts have in common. xx 1 2