/ NOTES ON S 1 1 AKSPERE'S VERSIFICATION. 'VITH APPENDIX ON THE VERSE TESTS, AND A SHORT DESCRIPTIV BIBLIOGRAFY. BY GEORGE H. BROWNE, A.M. . - - - IM if : BOSTON: GINN, HEATH, AND CO. 1884. 7T?3c?. ■2 Copyright 1S8£, By Ginn, Heath, and Co. !RntbfT8ttD JjJrrsa : John Wilson and Son, Cambridge. NOTE. The following notes were hastily put together, just hefore an examination, r the purpose of supplying my own pupils with a concise orderly summary the main features of Shakspere's Versification, and were preservd with the ^pe that in future classes I might be relievd of unnecessary expenditure 0! time upon what is a secondary, but by no means unimportant, subject in "aching Shakspere* A few extra copies were printed from a desire to share 'e possibilities of this relief with other teachers, who, deploring the unscien- ic statement and chaotic 'arrangement' of existing works on the subject, ay likewise hav been forct unwillingly to omit the subject altogether. ( course, whatever value an outline like this may have will depend mainly 'in the accuracy and effectivness of the illustrations. The most useful rtion of the little pamphlet, therefore, will prove to be the blank pages, ich hav been inserted for the reader to record his own examples on and correct any misquotations which may hav escapd the very careful revision he University Press. G. H. B. Cambridge, February, 1884. E It is needless to say that I hav drawn freely from Abbott's Shakesjiearean Grammar and js's Early English Pronunciation. Further illustrativ matter may be found in those wo , . ks ; also in W. Sidnet Walker's Versification of Shakespeare (London 1854) ; and in Critical Examination of the Text of Shakespeare, 3 vols. (London, 1860). C. Ba- , rctsT's Changes in Shakespeare's Versification (1857) is now out of print. The student of raetics needs not to be reminded of the immense advantage familiarity with the "phonetic . nt of view'' gives a student of prosody; nor the teacher of language phonetically, of the . lossibility of effectivly substituting arbitrary symbols for oral instruction. Some gain, ..ever, may perhaps be made by following up, in the books quoted in the notes, the hints _,. ;e thrown out. The best general work is Slevers' Grundzilge der Phonetik (Leipzig, 1881). . first chapter of Storm's Englische Philologic (Heilbronn, 1881) contains excellent state- (; its and criticisms of the best works on general phonetics from Merkel and Briicke to Henry j- .«et. Sweet's Handbook of Phonetics (London, 1877) is the most available book in Eng- t . (Melvill3 Bell is already antiquated.) The latest and best summary of the main fea- cq ( ;s of this youngest of the modern sciences is in an article by Moritz Trautmann, Anglia, T. ar |-598. More especially applicable to the points brought up in these notes is an excellent gu cle by the same on the r sounds in English, in Anglia,lll. 209. Those who still look with Uj ( picion upon the intrusion of "phonetics,'' and shrink from " phonetic spellings" (even in ^strations) because they lack dictionary authority, are most respectfully referrd to the New qlish Dictionary , the first part of which has recently been publisht. io of he of te d & SHAKSPERE'S VERSIFICATION. " The English heroic verse is usually stated to consist of ten syllables : it is better divided into five groups, each of which theoretically consists of two syllables, of which the second only is accented. . . . Practically, many of the groups are allowed to consist of three syllables, two of them being unaccented.* . . . The number of syllables may therefore be greater than ten,t while the accents may be, and most generally are, less than five. J . . . If there be an accent at the end of the third and fifth group, or at the end of the second and fourth, other accents may be distributed almost at pleasure.§ The last group may also have one or two unaccented syllables after its last accent." — Ellis, Essentials of Phonetics, p. 77 (1847). || Now Shakspere's Sonnets are remarkably melodious, and conform to the strictest rules of rhythm and metre. The dramatic poetry, on the other hand, * " The limit of trisyllabic substitution is three feet out of five." — J. B. Mayor, Phil. Soc. Trans., 1ST5-76, p. 412. t " A verse may often have more than ten syllables, and more or less than five accents, but it must carry so much sound as shall be a satisfactory equivalent for ten syllables, and must have its accents arranged so as to content an ear prepared for five." — J. A. Symonds, Fort- nightly Review, Dec, 1874. t Abbott (453 a) states that about one line in three has the full number of emphatic ac- cents ; about two in four have four, and one out of fifteen, three. It is of more importance to remember, (1.) that the first foot almost always has an emphatic accent ; (2.) that two unem- phatic accents rarely, if ever, come together ; and (3.) that there is generally an emphatic accent on the third or fourth foot. § " The true rule, I suspect, is that you may invert the place of the accent (substitute — — for ) in any group except the last, provided you don't do it in two together." — F.J. x^Fcknivall, N. Sli. Soc. Trans., 1874, I. 27. || Cf. E. Eny. Pron., p. 333 (1869): " In the modern verse of five measures, there must be a principal stress on the last syllable of the second and fourth measures, or of the first and fourth, or of the third and some other measure. There is also a stress upon the last syllable of the fifth measure, but if any one of the three conditions above stated are satisfied, the verse is complete." " Is it not better to allow that three out of the five feet may be — --'. without laying down the law as to the order in which they may come ? If I were disposed to make any more definite rule, I should prefer to say that in general it would be found that the fifth, and either the sec- ond or third foot, had the final accent." — J. B. Mayor, Phil. Soc. Trans., 1876, p. 452. " The chief defect in the rules is in regard to the fifth measure. The general condition is that the last syllabic! should not be weaker than the preceding syllable or syllables, and that, when it is actually weaker, it should be at least longer or heavier." — Ellis, ib. p. 464. is naturally more irregular and diversified ; for here the monotonous recur- rence of a uniform ten-syllable line with five regular accents would be par- ticularly inexpressive and offensive. The masterly art and delicate rythmical feeling with which Shakspere avoided this monotony make him the most musical of all writers of blank verse. Of course, the most truly characteristic features of his inimitable rythm defy analysis ; but for the very reason that Shakspere was so sure a master, he did not, in his self-sufficient independence of metrical restraint, arbitrarily ignore all metrical laws. " Shakspere never mangles the type of his blank verse, consequently in every line five rythmic accents are always present or accounted-for : and it is in his method of ' accounting-for ' them that Shakspere's mastery is so apparent, for it is the method of common speech, and his verse forever crowds the firm fabric of the type, as a canvas, with all the rythmical figures of every-day utterance? 1 (Sidney Laxier, Science of English Verse, p. 215.) But the every-day utter- ance of Shakspere's time was in many particulars very different from our common speech. It is necessary, therefore, to realize something of the changd conditions of accent, pronunciation, etc., of Elizabethan English be- fore we can approach the subject of rythmic versification intelligently. Of these diversified conditions, the following may be mentiond as contributing most to the variety and beauty of Shakspere's dramatic verse : — 1. The caesural pause. 2. The place of the accent. 3. Many syllables are con- tracted, now uncontracted. 4. Many syllables are expanded, not now allow- able. I. C^SURA. 1. The accent after a pause is frequently on the first syllable. Feed and regard him not. A're you a man ? Mcb. iii. 4. 58, et seep. Particularly at the beginning of the line. Rumble thy belly full ! Spit fire ! Spout rain ! K. L. iii. 2. 14. 2. An extra syllable is frequently added before a pause, especially at the end of a line.* 'T is not alone my inky cloak, good moth-er. H. i. 2. 77. We '11 have a swashing and a martial outside. A. Y. i. 3. 122. For mine own sMe-ties ; you may be rightly just. Mcb. iv. 3. 30. For goodness dares not cWck thee ; wear thou thy wrongs. lb. iv. 3. 33. With all the honors on my brother: whereon. T. i. 2. 127. The extra syllable, however, is rarely a monosyllable : — * Strictly speaking, there is no such thing in rythm as a really " extra" syllable ; what- ever time value there is in the bar is distributed among all the sounds in that bar, whether they be one, three, or none, — that is, rests. For the identity of this variation with Chaucers verse, see page 33, Ex. (4) ; and cf. p. 31, note. Cromwell, I charge thee, fling away ambition : By that sin fell the angels; how can man, then, The image of his maker, hope to wfn by H f LT 8 iii. 2. 441.* 3. Two extra syllables are sometimes allowd, if unemphatic, before a pause, especially at the end of the line. (These, however, are usually con- tracted (cf. III. 5, 6, 7, etc., below) ; there are of course but fire accents. Vid. 2, note, and cf. V., below.) Look where he comes! not poppy nor mandragoro. 0. iii. 3. 330. Is not so Estimable, profitable neither. M. V. i. 3. 167. Peruse the letter. Nothing almost sees miracles But miserj'. K. L. ii. 2. 172; lb. i. 1. 225. I dare avouch it, sir; what, fifty followers f lb. ii. 4. 240. As you are old and reverend, you should be wise. lb. i. 4. 261. Age is unnecessary ; on my knees I beg. lb. ii. 4. 157. So, manacles, Cor. i. 9. 57; vc'r%, lb. v. 2. 18; ]6a\ousy, H 5 v. 2. 491; recoro- pense, T. C. iii. 3. 8 ; iiMow her, A. Y. iii. 5. 49; dieted, Cor. i. 9. 52; unmanraerty, K. L. i. 1. 147. II. ACCENT.! 1. Some words, mostly dissyllabic, especially verbs, have the accent farther back than at present. — Abbott, Gr., 492; Ellis, E. Eng. Pron., 930, 931. The gentle archbishop of York is up With well-appointed powers. 2 H 4 i. 1. 119. I talk not of your soul : our compelled sins Stand more for number than account. M. M. ii. 4. 57. My conceal'd lady to her cancell'd love. R. J. iii. 3. 98. Good even to my ghostly confessor. E. J. ii. 6. 21. Let it work; For 't is the sport to have the <5nginer Hoist with his own petar. H. iii. 4, 203. So, pi'oner, lb. i. 5. 1G2; miitiners, Cor. i. 1. 255. Labienus bath with his Parthian force Extended Asia from Euphrates. A. C. i. 2. 106. * Not Shateperc's. The enumeration of these redundant syllables in 133 enabled Mr. Spedding, as early as 1850, to separate Fletcher's work from Shakspere's. Vid. N. Sh. Soc. Trans., I., Appendix, p. 14. t While it may not be necessary , evn for critical students, to read a permanent classic like Shakspere with his own pronunciation (which is now fairly well made out, cf. Ellis, E. Eng. J'ron., Cap. VIII. § 8), it is importaut for all to read him metrically ; and when we do aright, we find, not that Shakspere himself changd the accent " for the sake of the metre," but that pince his time the regular accent of many words kas changd. So with the resolutions, so ealld ; it i3 we moderns who hav done the changing, by reading as one syllable what in Shakspere's time was two. And no observing student can fail to notice in the spokn lan- guage of modern poetry many Blurrd contractions and other apparent irregularities of Shak- spere's verse. It is when we try to print them that they seem " forced and unnatural " So your sweet hue, which methinks still doth stand, Hath motion. Son. 114. (Walker, LV1I.) Than twenty silly-ducking observants. K. L. ii. 2. 109. Ay, do, persever, counterfeit sad looks. M. N. D. iii. 2. 237. So, H. i. 5. 1G2; perseverance, Mcb. iv. 3. 93. At Pentapolis the fair Thaisa. P. v. 3. 4. Cf. delectable, R2 ii. 3. 7; detestable, K. J. iii. 4. 29; horizon, 3 H« iv. 7.81; implorators, II. i. 3. 129; maintain, 1 H 6 i. 1.71; mature. K. L. iv. 6. 228; plebeians, Cor. v. 4. 39; A. C. iv. 12. 34; mankind, T. of A. iv. 1. 40; perspective, A. W. v. 3. 48; pursuit, Son. 143; purveyor, Mcb. i. 6. 22; receptacle, R. J. iv. 3. 39; redapse, H5 iv. 3. 107; successors, II 8 i. 1. 60. 2. Some words have the accent nearer the end than with us now. (" Latin [French] dissyllabic derivatives are oxytone." Ben Jonson.) — Abbott, 490; Ellis, 930, 931. I say without characters fame lives long. R 3 iii. 1. 81; H. i. 3. 59. Mark our contract; mark your divorce, young sir. W. T. iv. 4. 428; T. ii. 1. 151. Our wills and fates do so contrary run. H. iii. 2. 221. And world's exile is death: then banished. R. J. iii. 3 29. That no revenue hath but thy good spirits. II. iii. 2. 63. Banisht this frail sepulchre of our flesh. R2 i. 3. 194. Cf. K. L. ii. 4, 134. By heaven, she 's a dainty one, sweetheart. II 3 i. 4. 94. As 'twere triumphing at mine enemies. R 3 iii. 4. 91. Cf. abject, R3 i. 1. 106; aspect, A. C. i. 5. 33; R 3 i. 1. 155; commerce, T. C. i. 3. 105; compact, J. C. iii. 1. 215; corner, 3 lis iv. 5. 6; edict, 2 H<5 iii. 2. 258; exploits, H5 i. 2. 121; instinct, Cor. v. 3. 35; obdurate, M. V. iv. 1. 8; opportune, T. iv. 1. 26; portents, O. i. 2. 45; J. C. ii. 2. 50; prescience, J. C. i. 3. 199; sinister, II 5 ii. 4. 85; triumph, 1 H 4 v. 4. 14; welcome, R 2 ii. 3. 170. 3. A word repeated in the same verse often has two accents the first time, and one the second ; or occupies a whole bar the first time, and only part of a bar the second; and vice versa, according to emphasis. These violent desires have vi-olent ends. R. J. ii. 6. 9. Sti-ll so cruel ? Still so constant, lord. T. N. v. 1. 113. Cf. IV. 1. b. Of greatest justice. Wri-yte, write, Rinaldo. A. W. iii. 4. 29. Cf. IV. 2. a. Yield, Marcius, yi-eld. Hi'-ar mt' one word. Cor. iii. 1. 215. Cf. IV. 1. a. 2. Give me that : patience, -pa-ti-ence I need. K. L. ii. 4. 274. The'rcfdre and wherefore sometimes have two accents ; never wherefore. How cam'st thou hither, tell me and wherefore. R. .1. ii. 2. 62; K. L. ii. 4. 106. Make haste, therefore, sweet love, whilst it is prime. Son. 70. 4. Some words have a double accent. Trv what repentance can ; what can it not V Yet what cau it, when one cannot repent? H. iii. 3. 65. Toward the end of Sbakspere's career the modern pronunciation became prevalent, as shown in Your cld'st acquaintance cannot be three hours. T. v. 1. 185. Cf. I, myself, fight not once in forty year (?). 1 H<5 i. 3. 91. And handing thdmselves in contrary parts. 1 H 6 iii. 1. 81. But the modern pronunciation is more common. Schmidt (Lex. p. 1413) states the general rule that dissyllabic adjectives and participles throw the accent back before nouns accented on the first syllable, when that is in the arsis. E. g. the form cdmplete always precedes a noun accented on the first syllable ; complete is always in the predicate. Compare He is complete in feature and in mind. T. G. ii. 4. 73 ; and A maid of grace and complete majesty. L. L. L. i. 1. 137. That thou dread corpse again in complete steel. H. i. 5. 61. Also, And whom she finds forlorn, she doth lament. Lucr. 1500; and And from the forlorn world his visage hide. Sou. 33. Cf. Adverse, pernicious enemy. R 2 i. 3. 82; and Thy adverse party. Son. 35. Verse to constancy confined. Son. 105; and Forfeit to a confined doom. Son. 107. Of our despfsed nobility. H 8 iii. 2. 291 ; and The pangs of despised love. H. iii. 1. 72. Romeo is exiled. R. J. iii. 2. 133; and Calling home our exiled friends. Mcb. v. 8. 66. Obscure and lowly swain. 2 H 6 iv. 1. 50; and His obscure funeral. H. iv. 5. 213. Profound simplicity. L. L. L. v. 2. 52; and These profound heaves. H. iv. 1. 1. Secure foolhardy king. R 2 . v. 3. 43; and Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole. H. i. 5, 61. Supposed sincere unholy in his thoughts. 2 H 4 i. 1. 202. Sir, in good sooth, in sincere verity. K. L. ii. 2. 111. So, contrived, corrupt, dispersed, distinct, distract, exact, exhaled, ex- pired, express, extreme, humane, profane, remiss, severe, supreme. Espe- cially adjectives and participles with the prefix un-. How shall your houseless heads and unfed sides. K. L. iii. 4. 30. ( Vid. Sch. 1. c. ff. ) 5. Words in -ized and -ised throw the accent back (pron. Ised). As I by friends am well advertised. R 3 iv. 4. 501. Why thy canonized bones hearsed in death. H. i. 4. 47. And when this arm of mine hath chastised, R 3 iv. 4. 331. Authoriz'd by her grandam shame itself. Mcb. iii. 4. 66. Of Jacques Falconbridge solemnized. L. L. L. ii. 1. 42. 10 6. French accent sometimes ret^i' 1. Young, valiant, wise, and, no doubt, right royal. R3 i. 2. 245. So, reason, merchant, fortune, pardon, mercy. This Romance accent in blank verse, however, is commoner just before Shakspere (vid. Schroeer, Die An- fdnge dcs Blankverses in England, Anglia IV. 15 ff.) : palao?, mountain, manere, envy, poison, season, honour, picture (Surrey); mischfef, entrailes (Sackville); marriage, experience (Gascoigxe); lions, christall, etc. (Spenser, Visions of Belay); honest, argue (Lyly). 7. Our spondee frequently trochaic in Shakspere. Hark, hark, the lark at heaven's gate siugs. Cy. ii. 3. 21. I pray thee Launce, an if thou seest my boy, Bid him make haste, and meet me at the north gate. T. G. iii. 1. 258. On the belt's back I do fly. T. v. 1. 91. As horseback, now. I take thy hand, this hand, As soft as dove's down and as white as it. W. T. iv. 4. 374. So, jay's nest, T. ii. 2. 173; swan's nest, Cy. iii. 4. 142; wealth's sake, C. E. iii. 2. 6; fair-play,K. J. v. 1. 67. III. CONTRACTIONS. (Ellis, 939, 940.) 1. Prefixes dropt. (Abbott 466 ; Ellis, p. 939). (a)bove, Mcb. iii. 5. 31; (a)bout, T. i. 2. 220; (be)cause, Mcb. iii. 6. 21; (ac)count, H. iv. 7. 17; (be)havior, H. i. 2. 81; (a)larum, Cor. i. 4. 9; (be)nighted, K. L. iv. 5. 13; (an)noyanee, H. iii. 3. 13; (ap)parel, K. L. iv. 1. 51; (com)plain, lb. iii. 1. 39; (e)scape, oftn; 'scuse for excuse, O.iv. 1. 80; (at)tend, H. iv. 3. 47. A soothsayer bids you (be)ware the ides of March. J. C. i. 2. 19. (Be)c6mes (en)de'ar'd by being lack'd. A. C. i. 4. 44. 2. th in the middle of a word oftn dropt after a vowel. (Abbott, 46G.) In other the th is so completely dropt that it has becom our ordinary " or." So whe^er is oftn writn wh'er (K. L. ii. 1. 55), and nearly always so pronounct. Whe^er aught to us unknown afflicts him thus. H. ii. 2. 17. And whe^Aer he run or fly they know not whe^er. V. A. 51. Hither Heav'ra with light' ning strike the murderer dead, Or earth gape open wide. R 3 l. 2. 64. Glou. The king is in high rage. Corn. Whiter is he going? K. L. ii. 4. 299; A. Y. i. 3. 92. Tell me your counsels, I will not disclose 'em. J. C. ii. 1. 298. So, brother, R2 v . 3, 137; f ur theT, 1 H* iii. 1. 257; hither, R8 i. 4. 250; thither, 2 He i. 4. 78; rather, O. iii. 4,25; neither, M. V. i. 1. 78. 11 3. Contraction takes place when a vowel follows v. Cf. hast = havest ; has = ha vcth or haves ; o'er = over ; e'er = ever ; evil = ill, as now. II«ring God, her conscience, and these bars against me. R 3 i. 2. 235. Cf. M. V. iii. 2. 124; V. A. 823; 1 IP iii. 1. 34; T. A. v. 1. 61 ; A.W. v. 3. 123. Travel you far <5n, or are you at the farthest. T. S. iv. 2. 73. No marvel) my lord, tho' it affrighted you. R 3 i. 4. 04. Cf. 'T is marie he stabb'd you not. B. Jonson, E. Man out H., v. 4. A dzvil, a bor-n dev-il, in whose nature. T. iv. 1. 188. (Cf. II. 3.) So also, Mcb. iv. 3. 56 ; IP iv. 1. 12; 1 IP i. 3. 85; cf. T. N. i. 5. 270. The spirit that I have seene May be a deale, and the deale hath power , 'P assume a pleasing shape. H. ii. 2. 627; Q2. Q3. So, dram of eale = evil (lb. i. 4. 36) = ill, as now. Cy. v. 5. 60; K. J. iii. 4. 115; IPiv. 1.5. 4. Final vocalic -r (-er, -re), -1 (-el, -le), m, and n, frequently resume the force of consonants, particularly before another vowel or h, with correspond- ing loss of syllable.* Report should render him hourly to your ear. Cy. iii. 4. 153. Read : ren-d'r'iwi. This letter he early bid me give his father. R. J. v. 3. 275. Read: lt5t-fr'e. Cowards fa-ther cowards and base things si-re base. Cy. iv. 2. 26. And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries. Son. 29. Read: trubl deaf. I 'd whists her off and let her drown the wind. 0. iii. 3. 262; K. L. iv. 2. 29. In the dark backward and abysm, of time. T. i. 2. 50. Read: ahfs-mof. The mc'sseregers from our sister and the King. K. L. ii. 2. 54; A. C. iii. 6. 31. Had we doue so at first, we had drove» them home. A. C. iv. 7. 4. Read : we'd drov-nem.. So, drivera, O. i. 3. 232; and Heavera, givew, etc., as in modern hymns. Needle in " Gammer Gurton's Needle " rymes with/eefe. Cf. And griping it the neec/le his finger pricks. Lucr. 319. To thread the postern of a small needle's eye. R 2 v. 5. 17 ; K. J. v. 2. 157. Ct. 1 am a gendman of a company. H 5 iv. 1. 39; gen'man, Udall. * It must not be forgotn that the liquids 1, m, n, r, in English, as well as in the ancient languages (vid. Am. Jour. Philol., 1. 3. 282), are sounds capable of being prolongd and suscep- tible of accent, and that consequently they can each form a syllable. ( Vid. Sievers, Phonetik, p. 29,sqq.) E.g. he v-re zz heaven, not heav-ere ; hin-«7, not hand-ei or haad-le. uSweet, §§ 252, 254.) Vocalic m occurs, for example, in tho vulg. prou. el-m for elm, and in abysm, chasm, prism. Final vocalic r, however, has for the most part becom the neutral vowel o (as in but). E.g., " tha writ-3," for "the writer." But the r reappears before a vowel, " ths wriW-r of books " ; sometimes evn where it does not legitimately belong, as " the idea-r of it." (Vid. Storm. Eng. Phil., I. 92.) Now a large number of contractions in Shakspere arise from the surrender of this syllabic function of 1, m, n, and r. Vid. W. D. WnrrNEY, The Rela- tion of Vowel and Consonant, Oriental and Linguistic Essays, p. 277 sqq. 12 \ So, sample, Cy. i. 1. 48; people, 3 H<3 iv. 2. 2; uncle, A. T. i. 3. 44; littfe, W iii. 2. 336; K. L. ii. 4. 91; humbie, T. S. i. 1. 174; noble, T. A. iv. 1. 29 ; coup/e, T. S. iii. 2. 42; suffer, T. G. v. 4. 76; master, T. i. 2. 162; father, T. i. 2. 1; encounter Aer, W. T. ii. 1. 20. Cf. For him were Uvere have at his beddes heede. Chaucek, Prol. C. T. 293. 5. The force of r is also effectiv in certain classes of words (the greater part of them composd of two short syllables), which are frequently con- tracted into one syllable, or occupy monosyllabic places in the line, chiefly when they are followed by vowels. E. g. : — Ham. Perchance 't will walk again. Hor. I warrant it will. II. i. 2. 243. .' have cast off forever; thou shalt, I warrant thee. K. L. i. 4. 332. A barren detested vale you see it is. T. A. ii. 3. 92. And then they say no spirit dares stir abroad. II. i. 1. 161; T. i. 2. 215. Place barrels of pitch upon the fatal stake. 1 H 6 v. 4. 57. So, Clarence, 3 H 6 iv. 1. 9; alantm, Mcb. v. 5. 51; Cor. ii. 2. 80; flour'shing, T. G. v. 4. 3; nourish, 2 H6 iii. 1. 348 (cf. nurse). 6. The weakest unaccented syllable in polysyllables oftn slurrd over, particularly i. (See 5, ad Jin.) Judicious pun' shment! 'T was this flesh begot. K. L. iii. 4. 76. His short thick neck cannot be eas'ly harm'd. V. A. 627. Of smooth civfl'ty, yet am I inland bred. A. Y. ii. 7. 96. So, pretfly, heart'ly, am'ty, qual'ty hostil'ty, curios'ty, importun'ty, indign'ty, commun'ties, hiunid'ty, pur'ty; moiety, Son. 46. Hold thee from this forever. The barbarous Scythian. K. L. i. 1. 118. Our purpose necessary and not envious. J. C. ii. 1. 178. Thoughts specwlative their unsure hopes relate. Mcb. v. 4. 19. Conjectwral marriages making parties strong. Cor. i. 1. 198. Innocent milk in it most innocent mouth. W. T. iii. 2. 101. 01 iv. How now, Malvolio ! Mai. Ma'am, yow 've clone me wrong. T. N. v. 1. 336. Go thou to sanctuary and good thoughts possess thee. R 3 iv. 1. 94. Vid. Ellis, p. 948. So, blemish, W. T. iii. 2. 199; prom'sing, C. E. v. 1. 222; conference, Mcb. iii. 1. 80; majesty, A. W. ii. 1. 98; remedy, Mcb. iii. 2. 11; inventory, W. iii. 2. 152; stillitory, V. A. 74; Bartholomew, T. S. Ind. i. 105; Hauerford, R 3 iv. 5. 7; ig- nomirey, M. M. ii. 4. Ill; Enobarbus, A. C. iii. 2. 55; par'lous = perilous, E 3 ii. 4. 35 ; canstick = candlestick, 1 H 4 iii. 1. 131. 7. Words in which a " light " vowel sound is preceded by a " heavy " vowel sound are slurrd into monosyllables. That on the view and knowing of these contents. H. v. 2. 44. The which no sooner had his prowess eonfirm'd. Mob. v. 8. 41. And executing th' outward face of royalty. T. i. 2. 104. 13 So, being, doing, seeming, saying, playing, growing, tying, drawing, blowing, power, jewel. Cf. po'sy of a ring, H. iii. 2. 162. So, poetry and poet in Eliza- bethan writers. Sheriff, 2 II 4 iv. 4. 4 = shrieve. 8. ed following d or t oftn not writn and when writn not pronounct. For treason executed in our late King's days. 1 H6 ii. 4. 91 ; v. 1. 169. Was aptly fitted and naturally performed. T. S. Ind. i. 87. When service sweat for duty, not for meed. A. Y. ii. 3. 58. And I of ladies most deject and wretche«\ H. iii. 1. 163. The wild waves whist. T. i. 2. 379. Milton, Nativ. Ode, 64. Cf. Abb. 341, 342, and vid. II. ii. 1. 112: A. Y. i. 2. 156; M. V. iii. 2. 169; M. Ado ii. 1. 189, etc.; H5 i. 2. 305; 1 H* v. 5. 13. Similarly two dental syllables are contracted into one. E. g. it after let, set, yet, etc. I humbly set it at j-our will; but for my mistress. Cy. iv. 3. 13. You are a young huntsman, Marcus ; let it alone. T. A. iv. 2. 101. You see is kill'd in him; and yet it is danger. K. L. iv. 7. 79. 9. ed of participles and preterits (particularly after palatals) contracted into d (after k and s (sh) — t). Lay me stark -naked and let the water flies. A. C. v. 2. 59; H. iv. 7. 52. By what by-paths and Indirect a-ook'd ways. 2 H 4 iv. 5. 185. Let hell make crook'd my mind to answer it. 3 II 6 v. 6. 79. Alack, for lesser knowledge ! how accursed (= H) In being so blesi. W. T. ii. 1. 38. (Cf. III. 7.) T. i. 2. 61. What can happen To me above this wretchednessV All your studies Make me a curse like this. H s iii. 1. 122. Thus like a slave rarje/'d, like a felon gyv'd. Hetwood. Sometimes contracted and uncontracted in the same line. Hence banished is banish'd from the world. R. J. iii. 3. 19. (Cf. II. 3.) To this unlook'd for, unprepared pomp. K. J. ii. 1. 560. That were embatailled and rank'd in Kent. lb. iv. 2. 200. Despls'd, distressed, hated, martyr'd, kill'd. R. J. iv. 5. 59. 10. The plural and the possessive case of nouns in which the singular ends in s, se, ss, ce, and ge, frequently writn and more frequently pronounct without additional syllable. (Walkee, LI. ; Abbott, 471.) Doct. You see her eyes are open. Gent. Ay, but their sense are shut. Mcb. v. 1. 29; Son. 112. The Images of revolt and flying off. K. L. ii. 4. 91. I '11 to him; he is hid at Laurence' cell. R. J. iii. 2. 141. How many ways shall Carthage's glory grow. Surrey's Mn. iv. (Walker.) As blanks, benevolences, and I wot not what. R 2 ii. 1. 250. 14 For tinctures stains relics and cognizance'. J. C. ii. 2. 89 ; lb. ii. 1. 148. Are there balance' here to weigh the flesh? M. V. iv. 1. 255. Sits on his horse' back at mine hostess' door. K. J. ii. 1. 289 f£. Giving my verdict on the white rose' side. 1 H 6 ii. 4. 48. Stept before targe' of proof (plural). Cy. v. 5. 5; A. C. ii. G. 39. Cf. Keats, Endymion, iii., "brazen beaks and targe'; Rudders," etc. Is modern English pulse, after same analogy, for pulses, in Shelley, Revolt of Islam, V. xlviii., " From both the hearts whose pulse in joy now beat together "? So, George('s), R 3 v. 3. 344; purpose(s), Cy. iv. 3. 15; service(s), 0. i. 2. 18; conveyance(s), C. v. 1. 54. These verse. Daniel. Will see the porpoise and the dolphins play. Siiirly, Narcissus. 12. Superlativ oftn contracted. The sweet'st, dear'st creature's dead, and vengeance for 't Not dropt down yet. W. T. iii. 2. 202. This is thy eld'st son's son. K. J. ii. 1. 177; Cy. i. 1. 58. The stern'st good night. Mcb. ii. 2. 4. Cf. Thou stroakd'st me and mad'st much of me, would'st give me. T. i. 2. 333. So, thought'st, A. W. ii. 1. 133; spok'st, W. T. i. 2. 88; speak'st, L. L. L. iv. 1. 12; lov'st, W. T. i. 2. 174; split'st, ib. 349; great'st, A. W. ii. 1. 163; fair'st, W. T. iv. 4. 112; new'st, Mcb. iv. 3. 174; deep'st, T. G. v. 4. 71; near'st, W. T. iii. 2. 52; rar'st, P. v. 1. 233; faithfull'st, T. N. v. 117; strong'st, T. iv. 20; un- pleasant' st, M. V. iii. 2. 254. Cf. Pope, Imit. Hor. Epist. i. 60, " arrant' st puppy." 13. Other Contractions ("Walker, V., VI.). Personal pronouns: it ='t ; us = 's ; in the = i' the ; on the = o' the ; in his = in 's ; of his = o's ; he has = h'as ; they have = they 've ; thou wert = th' wert ; you were = you 're ; he were = h' were ; she were = sh' were, H. iv. 5. 14 ; at the = at', K. L. ii. 4. 10, cf. 76. ii. 2. 116; that it = that', K. L. i. 1. 211. So, this' = this is : O this' the poison of deep grief; it springs. H. iv. 5. 76. This ' a good block. K. L. iv. 6. 187. Bey. My lord, I have. Pol. God be with you, fare you well. H. ii. 1. 69. God b' wi' you = Good bye. B'wye old gentleman. Smollet, Rod'k Ran- dom, ch. iii. ad fin. Cf. Godgigoden, R. J. i. 2. 57 = God give you good even ; God dig you den, L. L. L. iv. 1. 43 ; Godild, H. iv. 5. 41 = God yield ; 's wounds, H. ii. 2. 604 = 'zounds, O. i. 1. 86 = God's wounds. So, 'sblood, H. ii. 2. 384. Cf. By 'r leave, M. M. iv. 3. 115 , Cy. ii. 3. 70 ; By 'r lady, R. J. i. 5. 35, H. iii. 2. 140; and oftu in prose. 15 IV. EXPANSIONS OR RESOLUTIONS* 1. Liquids maintain their phonetic force as vowels. (See III. 4, note.) a. 1. Syllabic r. (Ellis, 451 ; Abbott, 477-480.) You sent me deputy to I-?'e-land. H 8 iii. 2. 2G0. I am the son of Hen-r-y the Fifth. 3 H<5 i. 1. 107. Farewell : commend me to your mfs-ir-e'ss. R. J. ii. 4. 204. Good my lord, the see-r-ets of nature. J. C. iv. 2. 74. Ignomu in ransom and free pa-r-don A' re of two houses, lawful me-r-cy. M. M. ii. 4. Ill, 112; R 3 iv. 4. 515. (Cf. II. 3.) So, mons-^r-ous, Meb. iii. 6. 8; ang-r-y, T. of A. iii. 5. 57; en-Z?'-ance., R. J. i. 4. 7; coun-fr-y, T. N. i. 2. 21; Cor. i. 9. 17; pil-^r-im, A. W. iii. 5. 43; breth-r-en, T. A. i. 1. 347; chil-dr-en, C. E. v. 1. 3G0; Ber-i/--am's, A.W.i. 1. 94; ims-tr-ate, A. C. v. 1. 2. 2. This syllabic r (final) occurs most frequently after a long vowel sound, especially in monosyllables. As fi?'e drives out fire, so pity pity. J. C iii. 1. 171. I know a bank wher-re the wild thyme blows. M. N. D. ii. 1. 249. Hear, Nature, he-«r; 6.4-ar Goddess, hear. K. L. i. 4. 297. Hath turn'd my feigned prayers on rny head. R 3 v. 1. 21. May-or, farewell, thou dost but what thou mayst. 1 H 6 i. 3. 86. The greatest strength and pow-er he can make. R 3 iv. 4. 449. So, fa-ir, T. iv. 1. 31; fa-re, K. J. v. 7. 35; me-re, K. L. ii. 4. 99; the"-re, R. J. iv. 5. 36; wh<5-re, H. i. 2. 185; ne-ar, Meb. ii. 3. 146; te"-ars, Cor. v. 6. 101; ye-ar, T. i. 2. 53; si-re, A. W. ii. 3. 142; mo-re, K. L. v. 3. 16S; your, W. T. iii. 2. 232. 3. This same r is oftn prolongd with a kind of burr, giving another syllable. Cf. sirrah = sir. Look how he makes to Ca>sar! marrk him! J. C. iii. 1. 18; T. i. 2. 88. Strikes his breast harrd and anon he casts. H 8 iii. 2. 117. The we-ird sisters hand in hand. Meb. i. 3. 32. Do more than this in sport. Father, father ! K. L. ii. 1. 37. To show her bleeding body thorough Rome (= E. E. thurh), Lucr. 1851. So, apa-rt, A. C. iii. 13. 47; a-rts, L. L. L. ii. 1. 45; thf-rd, 1 He i. 1. 276; w6-rd, H. iii. 4. 180; fou-rth, R3 iv. 1. 112; hear-t, Cor. iii. 2. 54; lorrd, R 3 ii. 1. 110; marrch, H 5 iii. 6. 150. * Just as in music, rests may receive part of the time-allotment of a bar, so, effective disposi- tion of pauses, even in accented positions, in the verse, may frequently obviate the necessity of resolution. 16 6. Syllabic 1. (Spenser inserts the unnecessary e in some of these words ; as, handeling, F. Q. i. 8 28; enterance, lb. 34.) A rotten ease abides no han-rf£-ing. 2 H 4 iv. 1. 161. Than Bolingbroke's return to Eng-/-and. E 2 . iv. 4. 2G3. Why, then, I wi-ll, Fa-rewell, old Gaunt. R8 i. 2. 44. Just as you left them, — Orll pris'ners, sir. T. v. 1. 8. Yea, lookst thou p;We 1 Let me see the writing. R 2 v. 2. 57. Be free 1 and hea-Miful. So tart a favor. A. C. ii. 5. 33. This ignorant present and I fe(5-Z now. Mcb. i. 5. 58. While he himself keeps in the cd-W held. 3 H6 iv. 3. 41. So frequently adverbs in -ly (Walker, p. 23), deep-Z-y, W. T. ii. 3; short-Z-y, R 3 iv. 4; quick-^-y, M. M. ii. 4. So, assemb-/-y, Cor. i. 1. 159; nob-Z-y, K. L. v. 1. 28; humb-J-er, Ho iii. 1. 56. Cf. fid-^-er, T. S. ii. 1. 158; jug-yZ-er, M. N. D. iii. 2. 282; Lord Doug-Z-as, 1 H 4 v. 2. 33; dn-ll, C. E. v. 1. 70: wi-S, J. C. iii. 2. 153; change-2-ing, M. N. D. ii. 1. 23; me-Z-ted, lb. iv. 1. 1G3. c. Syllabic n (less common). Of quick cross light- n-ing ? To watch, poor perdu. K. L. iv. 7. 35. With them, Sir Thomas Vaugh-'re, pris-'w-ers. R 3 ii. 4. 43. 1 do wander everywhere, Swifter than the moo-n's sphere. M. N. D. ii. 1. 7. (Cf. 2. a. 5.) Each man 's like m(-ne : y<5u have shown all Hector's. A. C. iv. 8. 7. Mine own and not mine 6w-n. A're you sure? M. N. D. iv. 1. 180 Which is most ia.i-nt. Now 't is true. T. Ep. 3. At a poor man's house: he tis'd me kf-ndly. Cor. i. 9. 83. So, oftn nouns in -ness (Walker, p. 20), sick-n-ess, 1 II 4 iv. 1. Cf. H. ii. 2. 147 ff. wit-w-ess, T. G. iv. 2. 110. So, frie-reds, M. M. iii. 1. 28; joi-ret, M. M. v. 1. 314; go-we, M. V. ii. 9. 7%; the-wce, H. ii. 1. 148; Fra-wce, II 5 i. 2. 167; ord-w-ance (not necessarily ordinance, as Ff.), H 5 ii. 4. 126; thor-wi, lb. 329; sta-nd, H 8 i. 2. 85; gra-nt, T. i. 2. 79 ; ki-wg, Cy. v. 5. 407. d Syllabic m (rare). Lear. To this detested groo-m. Gon. A't your chofce, sir. K. L. ii. 4. 220. But ro6-?n, fairy, here comes Oberon. M. N. D. ii. 1. 58. Co-wie, good fellow, put my fr-on on. A. C. iv. 4. 3. Card. Ro-me shall remedv this. Glou. Roam thither th.5 1? u c -4 QJ o a, C M |S t. ° o -% p. T o ^ o a. =3 O. gS u ^ Sis u W o £ o 5» "3 |>3 ii -a * ~ 3 %> a a «1 ll a '3 s § If a a 8 2 Proportion of Kyme Liues to Blank Verse. Love's Labor's Lost Comedy of Errors Two Gent of Verona 1 in 13.4 1 in 10.7 linlO 5.5 9.3 10 linl7.6* 1 in 81.33 1 in 21 54 5.81 1.23 4.64 1 in 280 4 12 15 3t 1 in .58 lin3 liull Winter's Tale ... 1 in 2.12 Henry VIII . . . . 1 in 2.03 33.3 39.7 47.2 49.2 1 in 1.61 1 in 1.06 1 in 1.49 1 in 1.5* 61.86 00.36 66.93 65.59 1 in 42.1 1 in 32.4 1 in 28.1 1 in 33.5 2.37 3.09 3.50 2.70 33 32 31.09 44 2.88 2.90 3.12 3.93 1.71 1.E3 2.36 3.23 1 in 729 lin30 lin oo 1 in oo * My own count. Total speeches in L. L. L., 1128; prose 526, verse 602: part-line 116, single-line 221, son.; 11, end-stopt 219, mid-stopt 35, of which 9 are followd by speeches be- ginning with t'.io beginning of the line. If these be reckond as part-line speech-endings, the proportion is 1 in 23.15 or 4.320', thereby bringing the play nearer to its rightful position. Total speeches in IV (Shakspere's part) 279, all verse: part-line 63, single-line 12, end-stopt 22, mid-stopt 182, only 8 of which are followd by speeches beginning with the beginning of the line, and of these occur at the entrance or exit of a speaker. t Total number. 26 "On the whole, then," says Mr. Fleay, in his latest paper, "we may say that by means of metrical tests we can always distinguish, generally deter- mine authorship, and usually ascertain at what period of an author's life a work was written. The conclusions drawn by me as to authorship or date are always based on large numerical differences. ... To the fallacy of the exact percentage-differential doctrine, however, the ryme test is an impor- tant exception. Not only is there a gradual disuse of ryme by every author from 1590-1640 as he grows older, but there is also a growing dislike on the part of the public to the mixture of ryme and verse." (Mr. Fleay cites as one proof, a scene from IIeywood's Royal King and Loyal Subject, acted in 1603 but not publisht till 1637. Many rymed lines hav evidently been alterd to unrymed lines, to suit the changd fashion of the times which the author describes in the prolog. Revision, therefore, and alteration, must always be taken into consideration in applying the tests.) "For general chronological arrangement, then," he concludes, " I attach the highest im- portance to this ryme test. For separating the periods of Shakspere's work I rank the weak-ending test first in distinguishing the third and fourth periods ; the extra-middle syllable for separating the second and the third ; the ryme test for separating the first and second. For determining where revision has been at work, the short lines, especially at the beginning and end of speeches, are most useful." When these verse tests, then, corroborate the external evidence and the conclusions of the higher criticism based upon the evidence of gradually improving style and taste, profounder characterization, deeper reflection and pathos, loftier imagination and passion, broader humanity, and steadier moral grip, — evidence no less conclusiv because it cannot be definitly stated or numerically measurd, — it will be seen that "the critical study of the Poet's versification has not been without valuable results in helping to reveal to lovers of Shakspere "the greater Man than all his works," and in bringing about those conditions which have made possible " a new Victorian school of Shakspereans," and the production of such books as Dowden's Shakspere : His Mind and Art. The following table will show, in parallel columns, Dr. Dowden's and Mr. Furnivall's arrangement of the groups and the succession of the plays.* * "The student will observe in my arrangement early, middle, and later Comedy ; early, middle, and later History ; and early, middle, and later Tragedy. Not only is it well to view the entire body of Shakspere's plays in the order of their chronological succession, but also to trace in chronological order the three separate lines of Comedy, History, and Tragedy." Dowden, Mind and Art, p. x., 1879 s . " It would for many reasons be important and interest- ing to ascertain the date at which each work of Shakspere came into existence ; but as a fact this has not been accomplished, and we may safely say that it never will be accomplished. To understand in all essentials the history of Shakspere's character and art, we have obtained what is absolutely necessary, when we have made out the succession, not of Shakspere's plays, but of his chief visions of truth, his most intense moments of inspiration, his greater discov- eries about human life." lb. p. 378. riRSl" PERIOD. Dowden. "In the Workshop." Pre-Shaksperean Group. (Toiicht by Shakspere.) Titus Andronicus. (Blood, bombast, and fire.) 1 III nry VI. 1. Early Comedies. Love's labour 's Lost. Comedy of Errors. Two Gentlemen of Verona. Midsummer Night's Dream. 3. Early History and Poems. (Marlowe-Shakspere Group.) 1591-2. 2, 3 Henry VI. Richard III. Venus and Adonis. Lucrece. 4. Early Tragedy. Itomeo and Juliet. 1596-7. 5. Middle History. Richard II. King John. 1588-90. 1590-91. 1590. 1591. 1592-3. 1593-4. 1593. ? 1592. 1593-4. 1591. 1594. 1595. FURNIVALL. ? 1588-1594. a. Titus Andronicus (not Shakspere's) b. The Mistaken-Identity Group. ? 15S8-9. Love's Labour's Lost. ? 1580. Comedy of Errors. ? 1590-1. Midsummer Night's Dream c. Link Play. 1590-1. Two Gentlemen of Verona. d. The Passion Group. 1591-3: Romeo and Juliet. 1593. Venus and Adonis. 1593-4. Lucrece. 1583-99. Passionate Pilgrim. e. The Early Histories. ? 1593. Richard II. ? 1592-4. 1, 2, 3 Henry VI. ? 1594. Richard III. SECOND PERIOD. " In theWorld." 6. Middle Comedy. 159G. Merchant of Venice. 7. Later History. (History and coined}' united.) 1597-8. 1, 2 Henry IV. 1599. Henry V. 8. Later Comedy. (a.) Rough and boisterous. V 1597. Shrew. ? 1598. Merry Wives. (No sadness.) (b.) Joyous, refined, romantic. 1598. Much Ado. (Musical sad- ness.) 1599. As You Like It. (Jacques, link to the next group.) 1600-1. Twelfth Night. ? 1595-1601. a. The Life-Plea Group. V 1595. King John. ? 1590. Merchant of Venice. b. A Farce. ? 1596-7. Taming of the Shreic. c. Falstaff . Trilogy of Henry IV., V. 1596-7. 1 Henry IV. 1597-8. 2 Henry IV. 1598-9. Merry Wives. 1599. Henry V. d. The Sunny or Sweet Time Com©- dies. 1599-1600. Much Ado. 1600. As You Like It. 1601. Twelfth Night. 28 1603. Measure for Measm c. (Se- vere, dark.) ? 1603. Troihis, 1607. (Bitter, ironical.) e. The Darkening Comedy, 1601-2. All** Well, f. Sonnets. (? 1595-1605, Dowden.) THIRD PERIOD. "Out of the Depths." 9. Middle Tragedy. 1601. Julius Ccesar. (Error and misfortune rather than crime.) 1602. Hamlet. 10. Later Tragedy. 1604. Othello. (Jealousy and mur- der.) 1605. Lear. (Ingratitude and par- ricide.) 1606. Macbeth. (Ambition and murder.) 1607. Antony and Cleopatra (Vo- luptuousness). 1608. Coriolanus (Alienation from country). 1607-8. Timon (Alienation from hu- manity). ( Timon is the climax ! ) 1601-1608. a. Unfit Nature, Under-Burden-failing Group. 1601. Julius Casar. 1602-3. Hamlet. ? 1603. Measure for Measure. b. The Tempter-yielding Group. ? 1604. Othello. 1605-6. Macbeth. c. 1st. Ingratitude, Cursing 1605-6. King Lear. Play. d. The Lust or False-Love Group. ? 1606-7. Troilus and Cressida. ? 1606-7. Antony and Cleopatra. e. 2d. Ingratitude, Cursing Group. V 1607-S. Coriolanus. (Haughtiness.) ? 1607-8. Timon. (Misanthropy.) FOURTH PERIOD. On the Heights." 1609-1613. Reunion, Reconciliation, Forgiveness, 11. Romances. a . By Men. 1608. Pericles (Marina). 1608-9. Pericles. 1609. Cymbeline. 1609-10. Tempest. 1610. Tempest. b. By Women (mainly). 1610-11. Winter's Tale. ?1610. Cymbeline. 12. Fragments. 1611. Winter's Tale. 1612. Two Noble Kinsmen. 1612-13. Henry VIII. 1612-13. Henry VIII. 1612-13. Two Noble Kinsmen. > 29 APPENDIX II. DESCRIPTIV LIST OF A FEW OF THE MOST IMPORTANT WORKS ON ENGLISH VERSE. In addition to the books mentiorid in the note to the Preface, the student who wishes to continue the subject with the help of the very latest work on phonetics may be referrd to the elaborate analyses of audible speech (physical- acoustical, after IIelmiioltz, and anatomical-physiological, with excellent illus- trations of the organs of speech, etc., etc.) by F. Techmer, in the first num- ber of the new Internationale Zeitung* The numerous plates and tables will be very helpful, cvn to those who do not read German. The notes contain almost a complete bibliografy of the subject. Cf. his Phonetik, Leipzig, 1880. See also the references in the notes to pp. 11, 17, 10, above, and cf. W. D. Whitney on The Elements of English Pronunciation, in his Oriental and Lin- guistic Studies, p. 202 ff. (New York, 187-1). * F. TECiuiEr., Natuncissenschaftliche Analyse und Synthese der Horbaren Sprache, p. 69 ff. ; and Transshription mittels der Lateinischen Kursivschrift, p. 171 if. (if the new Internationale Zeitschrift fur Allgemeine Sprachwissenschaft, I. Bd. 1. heft, Leipzig, 1881. The oft-repeated query may recur at this point : What has all this about phonetics, etc., to do with Shakspere's Versification, or with Eng- lish Metre ? Unfortunately the query itself is a good example of how little re- flection is givn to this branch of our subject. Mr. Buskin, in one of his petulant moods, once wrote, in reply to a request for his interpretation of a passage in Shak- spere (Yon gray lines that fret the clouds, J. C. ii. 1. 103, 101), " You say not one man in 150 knows what the line means. My clear Furnivall, not one man in 15,000 in the nineteenth century knows, or ever can know, what any line, or any word means, used by a great writer. For most words stand for things that are seen, or things that are thought of: and in the nineteenth century there is certainly not one man in 15,000 who ever looks at anything, and not one in 15,000,000 capable of a thought." The proportion may not be quite the same ( !), but how few of us really observe, or arc conscious for any length of time, that we read and write one lan- guage and speak a very different one. To be sure, since the advent of the printing- pre s, with its manifold reproductions, the "letter" has been gradually extending its sole original function of representing sound, till now a Frenchman, for example, can learn to read English from a booh, and an Englishman French. The readers, however, hav but to exchange countries and becom speakers, to realize that what they hav learnd is not the English, not the French language. " Language is made up of sounds, not letters." The divorce of sound and letter, however, has now con- tinued so long in English, that English-speaking people hav almost completely lost their " phonetic sense " ; so that this subject of actual sound relations, which is at once one of the most essential, and in other countries one of the simplest, in language study, has to be pursued and applied by American students, not only with earnest, conscious effort, but in the face of no little conservativ opposition. But as "we 30 Now it is the deficiency in this physiological analysis of sound and the phe- nomena of spokn language that makes the early works on English Verse now almost valueless, and many of the late works almost irreconcilably contradic-. tory. Mitford (1804) and Guest (1838) are treasure-houses of examples, but their theories are erroneous and impracticable. In the Transactions of the Philological Society, London, 1874, p. 624, Prof. J. B. Mayor, in an article en- titled Dr. Guest and Dr. Abbott on English Metre, characterizes the followers of the former as of the intuitivist school, and the followers of the latter as of the mechanical routine school. (Cf. Abbott's English Lessons for English People, pp. 152, 153.) Prof. Mayor's own idea of metrical accent is that it amounts merely to "the distinction between emphatic and unemphatic syllables" (p. 637). His critical examination of the versification of Macbeth, however, in which he applies his (insufficient) theory, is worth consulting, particularly on the subjects of contractions and Alexandrines (Phil. Soc.Trans., 1875-76, p. 414). The first clear* light thrown on the subject was by Mr. Ellis's valuable paper on The Physical Constituents of Accent and Emphasis (Phil. Soc. Trans., 1874, p. 113). He there distinguishes in the sounds of spokn verse: length, pitch, force, and form (including succession, glide, jump, and silence). Sec above, p. 19, note. And in the Phil. Soc. Trans. 1876, r p. 443, he defines English rythm as being "primarily governed by alternations and groups of strong and weak syllables, and materially influenced by alternations and groups of long and short, high and low, heavy and light syllables, and great and small pauses." Prof. Mayor, however, (ib., 454,) objects to his elaborate over-analysis, saying : " The one thing to attend to is the variation of force, arising either from emphasis in the case of monosyllables, or from the word- accent in polysyllables. When this is thoroughly grasped, it may be well to should avoid violent revolution in the words and externals of religion," so we should avoid violent revolution in the words and externals of language and literature. (Cf. Matthew Arnold, Last Essays, Works, ed. 1883, vol. vii. pp. xxi, xxix, 227; and Introduction to the Great Prophecy of Israel's Restoration, 1875 ; and his latest book, Isaiah of Jerusalem, 1883.) Yet not until still greater effort is made on the part of teachers, at least, to restore this lost "phonetic sense," or to arouse the above- mentioud complainants to an appreciation of the fact that it is lost, and on the part of readers, as well as speakers, of the living English language, to recognize the importance of "sound" knowledge, can we hope for better methods or more satis- factory results in our language work, particularly in such matters as this of Versi- fication, where the rythm entirely depends, not upon how the lines look, but upon how they sound. We do not ask for a radical change in spelling, but merely for a disposition to recognize the living reality beneath the arbitrary sj'mbol. It is n't tencouraging to hav every attempt to find out and show the thing as it is condem'd as " fiat burglary," or worse, on our (mythical) "dear old mother tongue." * At least in flashes. This brief abstract, like all the others, to be clearly appre- hended, must be read in the original with the author's illustrativ examples. There is, of course, space here for the main outlines only, — the most important points in each theory. 31 notice how the rhythm thus obtained receives a further coloring from pitch, length, or silence, from alliteration, and in various other ways, but all these arc secondary." Mr. S. H. Hodgson, on the other hand, (English Verse, in Outcast Essays, pp. 207-360, London, 1881,) tho he follows Ellis in recogniz- ing in every articulate sound four inseparable elements, duration, pitch or ac- cent, color or tone, and loudness or force, — thinks that there is more difference between time, the quantitative element, and the three qualitative elements of sound, than there is between these three among themselves (p. 227). Yet, while agreeing with Mr. Coventry Patmore that stress or accent is the sole source of English metre (Study of English Metrical Law, prefixt to his Amelia, Load., 1878), he is of the opinion that he employs it illogically to divide time into isochronous bars. English metres, he thinks, do not aim at dividing time into equal or proportionate lengths ; they aim at a response of phrase to phrase, or sound to sound. " Quantity, therefore, in the sense of lengths of concrete speech markt off by stresses, is obviously very different from quan- tity in the sense of equal lengths of the time which speech occupies, and still more from the measured quantity of syllables, giving rise to feet measured and defined by the length and number of syllables they consist of." (p. 237.) But because English verse sounds are not confined, like those of Greek and Latin, to a single proportion, 1 : 2, and are not likewise fixt in quantity, (the same sounds forming sometimes short, sometimes long syllables,) it is not to be inferrd that there is no such thing as time-quantity in English verse sounds.* The fact, too, that rythm frequently depends upon silences which * That it takes some time to pronounce English words, both in prose and verse is self-evident, and every one who doesn't read the blank verse of Shakspere's lat- est plays as prose (owing to its baffling variety of pause-substitutions, its great number of double-ending and run-on lines, and its complex interplay of logic-, sen- tence-, and word-accent) must be aware of at least one cause of the rythm in the con- sciousness that each whole line has approximately the same time-allotment. So much quantity in English verse we can unquestionably feel; (and we feel it in much the same manner that we find the way about our homes in the dark, or go up and down familiar flights of steps without looking, — we know just when we are about to reach the top or bottom ; so we detect by ear lines that are too long or too short;) whether we can definitly say more is uncertain. Mr. Lanier's application of the theory that the printed word is a measure of rythm, the merest tyro in pho- netics knows to be fallacious ; for it is only by chance that our word-division, as ordinarily printed, represents the words as actually pronounct in the verse. But tho we cannot, with perfect accuracy, divide the time-allotment of each whole line into equal smaller time-allotments, the musical notation possesses so many points of superiority over all other schemes, that, with this reservation, it has been adopted for practical school use. As every piece of music is interpreted differently by different performers, according as each introduces various "holds," "rests," etc., etc., not provided for in the notes, so every verse, according to this notation, is sub- ject to the same accidents of individual taste or rythmical feeling. (The selection of 32 cannot be accented, and that a series of random sound-units, tho accented regularly, are not rythmical unless there preexist some simple harmonious time-relations between the sound-units themselves, suggests the inference that accent is not the sole cause of English verse. " This misconception has arisen out of the failure to discriminate primary rhythm from secondary rhythm." (Sidney Lan#er, Science of Eng. Verse, New York, 1880.) By primary rythm he means the simple pre-existing time-relations between the sound-units ; and by secondary rythm, the arrangement, by means of accent, of this primary rythmic material into groups or bars (p. 103). When the rythmic accent recurs at that interval of time represented by three units of any sort, — no matter among how many sounds this amount of time may be distributed, — we have the effect upon the ear of 3-rythm ; by four units, that of 4-rythm. These two classes of secondary rythm comprise, as types, nearly all the combinations made by sound-units in English verse (p. 127). Applying, then, the musical notation used by Schmidt in his Introduction to the Rhythmic and Metric of the Classical Languages, if we take the type of Shakspere's verse to be a line-group of five bars, each of the typical form A_ (allowing all the variations of written music), we shall have r^) » "3 "p p perhaps a more scientifically accurate scheme than even I ■&•- p~~ | ,., I Ellis's improvement on the conventional definition gives us, and also one more in harmony with the spirit of English blank verse viewd historically as a variation of the 3-rythm type of versification, which, from Anglo-Saxon times to the present day, has been used by English poets with an almost passionate preference over the other type, seen in Lockshy Hall and in the classical hexameters, — the 4-rythm type. The following scheme exhibits a modern variation of this 3-rythm type; it is also the most ancient. __A _A A_ ,__ _^ t s — p — p_p_t=p — p — p_ t_p — p_..p_t_p — p — 7 — ^ Half a league, half a league, half a league on - ward. j^o :' * '*~M ^ * f\~*~ -* _p__: Into the valley of death rode the six hundred. Cf. Swinburne's Atalanta in Calydon, and W. Morris's Lace is Enough. Piers Plowman (13G2), " who was the first that observed the true quantity of our verse without the curiositie of rime," * exhibits the moving forward of the accent : — the note E of the bass cleff in the following examples has no significance ; it was only takn for convenience.) * Francis Meres, Palladis Tamia, 1598, N. Sh. Soc. Trans., TV. Series, 1874, p. 156. 33 "In a som - • - er s<5 - son, whan soft was the son - ne, I shop - e me in shroudes as I a shtfp - - e wer - e. In Chaucer's verse we pass from what may be called the ancient heroic verse to the modern. In the first of the following examples observe that the types of Chaucer's verse and of Shakspere's early work are identical ; in the second, notice the similarity of the time-allotments in the last bar : — j3~ z* — m I * — *-=]—* P^t=P — ?-^}—t* — p— Biron. King. Biron. King. Whil - om, There was "What is Why, that Things hid Ay, tli at A old - e sto - ries tell - en us, duk that hight - e The - se - us. Knighte's Tale, 1. end of stud - y? Let me know, know which else we should not know, andbarr'd, you mean, from com - mon sense? is stud -y's god - like rec - om - pense. L. L. L. i. 1. 55. the to A A A A ? le-fr* «IE# «_Fm (eJFp ps. i --g)T-3- When that A - prill -e with his schowr - es swoot - e The drought of Marche hath perc - ed to the root - e. Prolog. C. T. 1, 2. To be or not to be, that is trie question. Wh(5th - er 't is no - bier in the mind to suffer The slings and ar - rows of out - ra - geous fortune, O'r to take arms a - gainst a sea of troubles. H. iii. I. 56. In the second and fourth lines the first bar in each is changd to the form ^ which is the type of Poe's Raven, Longfellow's Psalm -p/-^*--M — gzzi of Life, Emerson's Brahma, etc. Of course these schemes ^-f — i*'—' are general types only of the rythmical theme upon which the poets have composed the melodious structure of their verse. It would be absurd to read Chaucer's verses without their rythmical pause- substitutions, as it would be to imagine Hamlet following rigidly the above scheme. Shakspere, wC have seen, as he grew in metrical insight and 34 power, discarded ryme, and by an immense variety of time-allotments in each of the five bars, and by a rythmical disposition of word and logical accent, created a music of his own, which bore but little superficial resemblance to the regular melody of the Chaucerian variation of the 3-rythm type. (See above on the Verse Tests.) • Some further useful hints perhaps may be got from Prof. Skeat's paper on Alliterative Metre (in the Percy Folio MS., ed. Hale and Furnivall, 1S68), and in Mr. Stmond's article on Milton's BlankVerse, in the Fortnightly Review, December, 1874. Coleridge's Preface to Christabel, and Poe's Rationale of Verse, are interesting as curiosities. As usual, in all bibliograf- ical notes, however slight, (not excepting the subject of English,) the "latest and best " work is by a German. Aided by the Old-English publications of the London societies, Dr. J. Schipper, in his Englische Metrih, l ter Theil, (Bonn, 1882,) has produced the most scientific and comprehensive history of English verse that has yet appeared. The part now publisht, however, only comes down to Chaucer, and is therefore most useful to students of Early English. NOTES ON SHAKSPERE'S VERSIFICATION WITH APPENDIX ON THE VERSE TESTS, AND A SHORT DESCRIPTIV BIBLIOGRAFY. BY GEORGE H. BROWNE, A.M. BOSTON: GINN, HEATH, AND CO. 1884.