Bothe temporal and spiritual: for ❘ to complayne].

Skelton's El. 26.

Why then thy dogmatical: silence hath left | thee-
Of that an obstrep erous lawyer bereft | me.

B. Jons. Fox, 1. 2.

In the same loose metre, we sometimes meet with such

a verse as 6 l: 10.

The Baron of Killerton and both As tones were there].

:

M. for M. Flodd. Field, 10.

CHAPTER IV.

VERSE OF FIVE ACCENTS.

OUR verse of five accents may be divided into two sections, whereof one contains two, and the other three accents. Accordingly as it opens with one or other of these sections, the character of its rhythm varies materially. We shall in the present chapter pass under review those verses, which begin with the section of two accents.

Before, however, we proceed, I would make one or two observations on a subject, which has already been touched upon in the opening of the last chapter. Gascoigne thought that in a verse of ten syllables, the pause would "be best placed at the ende of the first four syllables.” He adds, however, soon afterwards, "In rithme royall it is at the writer's discretion, and forceth not where the pause be until the end of the line." Now as the stanza, known by the name of the rhythm royal, was borrowed from the French, this strengthens an opinion already mooted, that, with the other peculiarities of foreign metre, the flow of its rhythm was introduced into our poetry. But that it quickly yielded to the native rhythm of the language is clear, no less from the versification of such poets. as have survived to us, than from the silence of contemporary critics. Gascoigne is the only writer who alludes to this license-a strong proof that it was not generally recognised even as a peculiarity of the rhythm royal.

In most of the manuscripts I have seen, containing verse of five accents, the middle pause is marked; though not so carefully, as in the alliterative poems of the same age. Below are the first eighteen lines of Chaucer's Prologue, from MS. Harl. 1758, and MS. Harl. 7333. The first manuscript gives both the middle and the final pauses.

Whan that April. wit his shoures swote.

The drought of Marche hath perced to the rote .
And bathed every veyne. in such licoure .
Of whiche virtue . engendred is the floure.
And Zephyrus eke. with his swete breth
Enspired hath. in everie holt and heth.
The tender croppes. and the yong sonne.
Into the ram his half cours ronne.
And smale fowles. maken melodye.
That slepen all the nyght . with open eye.
So pricketh hem nature in here corages.
Than longen folk. to gon on pilgrimages.
And palmers for to seke. straunge strondes
To serve halwes. couthe in sondry londes.
And specialy from everie schires ende.

The holy blissfull martyr for to seke.

That hem hath holpen. when that they were seke.

Whanne that Aperyll wit his shoures swoote

The drowht of Marche hathe perced to the roote
And bathed every veyne in suche likoure

Of wiche vertue . engenderid is the floure
Whenne Zephyrus eke wit his swete brethe
Enspiryd hathe in every holt and hethe

The tendre croppes and the yownge sonne

Hathe in the rame.

And smale foules

his halfe cours eronne
maken melodye

That slepen al the night wit open eye
So prickethe hem nature. in thaire courages
Thanne longer folkes to gon on pilgrimages
And palmers eke. to seke straunge strondes
To serve halwes. cowthe in sundrye landis

And speciallye . frome every shyres ende
Of England to Canterburye thei wende
The hooly blyssfulle martyr. ffor to seke

That hem hathe holpon whanne that thei were seke.

The occasional omission or misplacing of the dot, is perfectly in keeping with the general inaccuracy of these two copies. Indeed, in MS. Harl. 7333, the pause, when inserted, is often nothing more than a mere scratch of the pen. Still, as it seems to me, we can only come to one conclusion, in examining these manuscripts; namely, that each verse was looked upon as made up of two sections, precisely in the same way as the alliterative couplet of the Anglo-Saxons.

VERSES BEGINNING WITH SECTION 1,

are of very rare occurrence. They are chiefly used by our dramatists. We shall begin with the verse 1: 2.

Have I not heard these islanders cry out,

Vive le roi as | I have bank'd | their towns.

King John, 2.

O that's well fetch | me my cloke | my cloke.
B. Jons. Ev. M. in his Humor, 2, 3.

Hold, shepherd, hold!
Of your word: was
To break their loves first?

learn not to be a wronger
not your promise laid

F. Faith. Sheph. 4. 3.

1: 5. is more common.

Like a pilgrime which that goeth on foote,
And hath none horse to relieve his travaile,

Whote dry and wery, and may find no bote
Of wel cold whan thrust | doth him | assaile
Right so fare I.

Lydgate. Fall of Princes.

Then as a bayte she bringeth forth her ware,
Silver, gold, riche perle, and precious stone].

Sir T. More. Boke of Fortune.

Barkloughly castle call you this at hand?

Yea, my lord: how brook | your grace | the air.

Delights and jolly games

That shepherds hold full dear, thus put I off;

:

R 2, 3. 2.

Now no more shall these | smooth brows | be girt
With youthful coronals.

Fl. Fa. Sheph.

Thrice from the banks of Wye,

And sandy-bottom'd Severn have I sent him Boot less home and weather-beaten back. :

Ja│el wh |: with hospitable guile

Smote Sisera sleeping.

1 H 4, 3. 1.

Sampson Agon.

Chaucer affords us a few instances of the same verse

lengthened;

Ther n'as quicksilver, litarge, ne brimston,

Boras, ceruse, ne oile of tartre non,

Ne ointment that wol de clen|se or bitle,

:

That him might helpen of his whelkes white.

Chau. Prol.

Verses beginning with the section 1 l. abound in AngloSaxon; they are also met with in Chaucer and the writers of the fifteenth century, but were rarely used after that period, except by our dramatists.

sec ga swatle: sith|thau sun❘ne up].

won nan wæge: wera eth el-land.

wall-grim werum : wulldor cyn|inges.

gas tas geom re geoflon death e hweop].

War Song.

Cad.

Cæd.

Cæd.

:

:

sid and swegl-torht him | thær sar | gelamp.

Cæd.