The evolution of verse structure in Old and Middle English poetry from the earliest alliterative poems to Iambic pentameter

338 Pages·2017·3.324 MB·English

by  Russom, Geoffrey

THE EVOLUTION OF VERSE STRUCTURE IN OLD
AND MIDDLE ENGLISH POETRY
Inthisfascinatingstudy,GeoffreyRussomtracestheevolutionofthe
major English poetic traditions by reference to the evolution of
the English language, and considers how verse forms are born, how
theyevolve,andwhytheydie.Usingageneraltheoryofpoeticform
employinguniversalprinciplesrootedinthehumanlanguagefaculty,
Russomarguesthatcertainkindsofpoetrytendtoarisespontaneously
in languages with identifiable characteristics. Language changes may
require modification of metrical rules and may eventually lead to
extinctionofameter.Russom’stheoryisappliedtoexplainthedevel-
opment ofEnglishmeters fromthe earliest alliterativepoems in Old
andMiddleEnglishandthetransitiontoiambicmeterintheModern
English period. This thorough yet accessible study provides detailed
analysesofforminkeypoems,includingBeowulfandSirGawainand
theGreenKnight,andaglossaryoftechnicalterms.
geoffrey russom is Emeritus Professor of English and Medieval
StudiesatBrownUniversityandNicholasBrownProfessorofOratory
andBellesLettres,Emeritus.HeistheauthorofOldEnglishMeterand
LinguisticTheory(Cambridge,1987)andofBeowulfandOldGermanic
Metre(Cambridge,1998),andhaspublishednumerousjournalarticles
and book chapters on the theory of poetic form, the history of the
Englishlanguage,andtheartisticexcellenceofpreliterateverse.
cambridge studies in medieval literature
GeneralEditor
AlastairMinnis,YaleUniversity
EditorialBoard
ZygmuntG.Barański,UniversityofCambridge
ChristopherC.Baswell,BarnardCollegeandColumbiaUniversity
JohnBurrow,UniversityofBristol
MaryCarruthers,NewYorkUniversity
RitaCopeland,UniversityofPennsylvania
RobertaFrank,YaleUniversity
SimonGaunt,King’sCollege,London
StevenKruger,CityUniversityofNewYork
NigelPalmer,UniversityofOxford
WinthropWetherbee,CornellUniversity
JocelynWogan-Browne,FordhamUniversity
Thisseriesofcriticalbooksseekstocoverthewholeareaofliteraturewrittenin
the major medieval languages – the main European vernaculars, and medieval
LatinandGreek–duringtheperiodc.1100–1500.Itschiefaimistopublishand
stimulatefreshscholarshipandcriticismonmedievalliterature,specialemphasis
being placed on understanding major works of poetry, prose, and drama in
relationtothecontemporarycultureandlearningwhichfosteredthem.
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Acompletelistoftitlesintheseriescanbefoundattheendofthevolume.
THE EVOLUTION OF VERSE
STRUCTURE IN OLD AND
MIDDLE ENGLISH POETRY
From the Earliest Alliterative Poems to Iambic Pentameter
GEOFFREY RUSSOM
BrownUniversity
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www.cambridge.org
Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9781107148338
doi:10.1017/9781316562925
©GeoffreyRussom2017
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception
andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements,
noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten
permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress.
Firstpublished2017
PrintedintheUnitedKingdombyClays,StIvesplc
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isbn978-1-107-14833-8Hardback
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For Mike and Sue

Contents
ListofTables pageviii
Acknowledgments x
1 GeneralPrinciplesofPoeticForm 1
2 Indo-EuropeanandGermanicMeters 35
3 OldEnglishMeterintheEraofBeowulf 54
4 FromLateOldEnglishMetertoMiddleEnglishMeter 89
5 MiddleEnglishTypeA1andtheHypermetricalB-Verse 134
6 TypeA1intheA-Verse 176
7 TypesBandC 190
8 SurvivalandExtinctioninTypesA2,Da,andE 208
9 TypeDbandtheHypermetricalA-Verse 233
10 TheBirthofEnglishIambicMeter 259
11 GeneralSummary 272
Notes 278
Glossary 304
Bibliography 310
Index 317
vii
Tables
3.1 VerseTypesReliablyAttestedinBeowulf page61
4.1 MedialDipsinTypesA,D,andE 101
4.2 MedialDipsinHypermetricalA-Verses 103
4.3 MedialDipsinHypermetricalB-Verses 106
4.4 MedialDipsinVariantswiththeFirstFootOccupiedbyaWord 107
Group
4.5 DipsintheSxsFootofTypeB 111
4.6 FrequenciesforA-VerseDipsintheSxsFootofTypeB 111
4.7 DipsintheSxxsFootofLongTypeB 113
4.8 FrequenciesforA-VerseDipsintheSxxsFootofLongTypeB 113
4.9 DipsintheSxsFootofTypeDb 114
4.10 DipsintheSxxsFootofLongTypeDb 115
4.11 LongInitialDipsthatIncludeLightFeet 117
4.12 PlacementofFiniteWesan 118
4.13 PlacementofFiniteAuxiliaries 120
4.14 PlacementofLightMainVerbsandQuasi-Auxiliaries 121
4.15 PlacementoftheRemainingFiniteVerbs 123
5.1 InterpretationofHigh-FrequencyWordswithWeakFinal-e 139
5.2 InterpretationofHigh-FrequencyWordsEndinginWeakePlus 141
Consonant
5.3 DipStructuresintheCorpusofLimitedAmbiguity 151
5.4 DipStructuresintheLargerCorpus 153
5.5 WordPlacementintheDipsofTypeA1B-Verses 157
5.6 WordPlacementintheDipsofHypermetricalB-Verses 158
6.1 DipStructuresforTypeA1A-VersesintheSmallerCorpus 177
6.2 DipStructuresforTypeA1A-VersesintheLargerCorpus 177
7.1 DistributionofTypeCAccordingtotheLengthoftheInitialDip 191
7.2 DistributionofBVariantsintheSmallerCorpus 200
7.3 DistributionofBVariantsintheLargerCorpus 201
8.1 DistributionofA2VariantsintheSmallerCorpus 216
8.2 DistributionofA2VariantsintheLargerCorpus 216
viii