A History of English Versification. J. Schipper
759; resolution of first and second arsis, hláden hérewǣ̀dum Beow. 1898, néfan Hérerī̀ces Beow. 2207. Hemistichs like wiht unhǣlo Beow. 120, which have compounds with un, may be read wíht únhǽlo according to type D2, or wíht unhǣ́lo according to type A, –́×|–́× (Sievers, Paul-Braune’s Beiträge, x. 251, and Kluge in Paul’s Grundriss, i2, p. 1051). (ii) D2 is the same form, but with the thesis short and with secondary accent, –́|–́⏑̀× béorht blǽdgìfa An. 84, lḗof lándfrùma Beow. 31, strḗam ū́t þònan Beow. 2546, rǣ́d éahtèdon Beow. 172; with resolution of the first arsis, mǽgen sámnòde El. 55, mága Héalfdènes Beow. 189; with resolution of the second arsis, hórd ópenìan Beow. 3057, the only example. (iii) D 3 is the normal type, but with short second arsis (rare), –́|⏑́×̀×, éorðcýnìnga El. 1174; with resolution of the first arsis, rádorcýnìnges El. 624. (iv) D 4 has the form –́|–́××̀, and is closely allied to the type E (–́×̀×|–́), as it has the secondary accent on the last syllable of the thesis (Sievers, Paul-Braune’s Beiträge, x. 256), brḗost ínnanwèard An. 649, hólm ū̀p ætbæ̀r Beow. 519, fýrst fórð gewā́t ib. 210; varied by resolution of the first arsis, géaro gū̀ðe fràm An. 234, flóta fā́mighèals Beow. 218, súnu dḗað fornàm Beow. 2120; by resolution of the second arsis, wlánc Wédera lṑod 341, and of both first and second arsis, wlítig wéoruda hḕap An. 872; and resolution of the last thesis with secondary accent, wṓp úp āhàfen Beow. 128, wúnað wíntra fèla Ph. 580. Certain hemistichs which may belong to this sub-type admit of an alternative accentuation, and may belong to the following type; for example, scop hwlum sang Beow. 496 may be read –́|–́××̀, or as E –́×̀×|–́, so werod eall ārās Beow. 652.
§ 29. The type E has two sub-types, distinguished by the position of the syllable bearing the secondary accent; this syllable is generally the second syllable of a compound or the heavy middle syllable of a trisyllabic word with a long root-syllable.
E1 has the form –́×̀×|–́, the syllable with secondary accent standing first in the thesis, mṓdsòrge wǽg El. 61, wéorðmỳndum þā́h Beow. 8, Sū̀ðdèna fólc Beow. 463, ḗhtènde wǽs Beow. 159, hǣ́ðènra hýht Beow. 179, ǣ́nìgne þónc Cri. 1498, wórdhòrd onléac Beow. 259, úplàng āstṓd Beow. 760, scóp hwī̀lum sáng Beow. 496 (cf. above, § 29); varied by resolution of the first arsis, héofonrī̀ces weárd El. 445, Scédelàndum ín Beow. 19, wlítebèorhtne wáng Beow. 93, lífigènde cwṓm Beow. 1974, ǽðelìnges wḗox El. 12, médofùl ætbǽr Beow. 625, dúguð èall ārā́s Beow. 1791; resolution of the second arsis is rare, tī́rḕadge hǽleð An. 2 (the MS. reading ēadige must be corrected to ēadge, see Sievers, Beiträge, x. 459 on these middle vowels after long root-syllable), hélþègnes héte Beow. 142; resolution of both is rare, sélewèard āséted Beow. 668, wínedrỳhten frǽgen An. 921; resolution of the accented thesis, glḗdègesa grím Beow. 2651.
E2 has the last syllable of the thesis with secondary accent, and is very rare, –́××̀|–́, mórðorbèd strḗd Beow. 2437; with resolution of last arsis, gḗomorgìdd wrécen An. 1550, bǣ́ron ū̀t hrǽðe An. 1223.
II. Hemistichs of five members.
§ 30. Hemistichs of five members (extended) occur much more rarely than the normal types of four members. The extended types are denoted by the letters A*, B*, C*, &c.
Type A* has two sub-types distinguished by the position of the syllable with the secondary accent.
(i) A*1, –́×̀×|–́× occurs chiefly in the first hemistich, gódbèarn on gálgan El. 719; with resolution of first arsis, géolorànd tō gū́ðe Beow. 438; with thesis of two unaccented syllables following on the secondary accent, glǽdmṑd on gesíhðe Cri. 911, fǽstrǽdne geþṓht Beow. 611; with final thesis strengthened by secondary accent, gā́stlī̀cne góddrḕam Gū. 602, gámolfèax ond gū́ðrṑf Beow. 609.
(ii) A*2 –́××̀|–́× may possibly occur in mā́ððumfæ̀t mǣ́re Beow. 2405, wúldorlḕan wéorca Cri. 1080; with resolution of the thesis with secondary accent, mórðorbèalo mága Beow. 1079. Possibly, however, the syllables um in māððum and or in wuldor and morðor are to be written m and r, so that the scansion of the hemistich would be A2 –́–̀|–́× and –́⏑̀͜×|–́× .[77]
Type B* ×̀×–́|×–́ does not seem to occur in O.E. poetry, though it does in Old Norse.
Type C* in the forms ×̀×–́|–́×,×̀×⏑́×|–́×,××–́|⏑́× are also not found in O.E.
Type D* on the other hand does occur, but almost exclusively in the first hemistich. It has three sub-types: (i) D*1 –́×|–́××, sī́de sǣ́næ̀ssas Beow. 223, áldres órwḕna Beow. 1002; with resolution of the first arsis, ǽðeling ā́nhȳ̀dig Beow. 2668; more commonly with resolution of the second arsis, mǣ́ton mérestræ̀ta Beow. 514; with resolution of both, lócene léoðosỳrcan Beow. 1506. (ii) D*2 –́×|–́⏑̀×, mǣ́re méarcstàpa Beow. 103, éaldor Éastdèna Beow. 392; with resolution of the first arsis, ǽðele órdfrùma Beow. 263; with resolution of the second arsis, mṓdges mérefàran Beow. 502, Bḗowulf máðelòde Beow. 505, &c. (iii) D*3 –́×|⏑́×̀× is not found. (iv) D*4 –́×|–́××̀ is rare, grḗtte Gḗata lḕod Beow. 625, þrȳ́ðlīc þégna hḕap Beow. 400; with resolution of first arsis, éaforan éllorsī̀ð Beow. 2452; with resolution of the second, ȳ́ðde éotena cỳn Beow. 421; with resolution of the secondarily accented syllable, wī́n of wúndorfàtum Beow. 1163; this type is varied by anacrusis, ongínneð gḗomormṑd Beow. 2045, and by anacrusis together with disyllabic thesis in the second foot, oferswám þā síoleða bigòng Beow. 2368.
Type E* does not occur in O.E. poetry.[78]
§ 31. To assign the different hemistichs of a poem to these various types we have to follow as a regulating principle the natural word accent and syntactical accent of each sentence. In some cases the similarity or relation with one another of the types renders it a matter of difficulty to determine exactly to what particular type a hemistich may belong. Systematic investigations as to the principles which govern the combinations of the five types in pairs to form the long line have not yet been made. From such observations as have been made it would appear that by preference hemistichs of different rhythmical structure (ascending and descending) were combined with a view to avoid a monotonous likeness between the two halves of the verse.[79].
§ 32. The combination of two hemistichs so as to form a long line is effected by means of alliteration, one at least of the two fully accented syllables being the bearer of an alliterative sound. In no case is an unaccented syllable or even a syllable with a secondary accent allowed to take part in the alliteration. This fact, that secondarily accented syllables are debarred from alliterating, is another proof that it is better to look on them as belonging to the thesis rather than to the arsis of the verse.
The Principles of Alliteration.
§ 33. Quality of the Alliteration. It is an all but invariable rule that the correspondence of sounds must be exact and not merely