Its movement has been
compared
to the smooth, steady,
irresistible sweep of water in a mighty river.
irresistible sweep of water in a mighty river.
Spenser - Faerie Queene - 1
)
"His ship far come from watrie wilderness. " (III, xxxii. )
The use of alliteration, i. e. having several words in a line beginning with
the same letter, is another device frequently employed by Spenser for
musical effect; e. g. --
"In which that wicked wight his dayes doth weare. " (I, xxxvi. )
"Sweet slombring deaw, the which to sleep them biddes. " (I, xxxvi. )
5. VERSIFICATION. --In the handling of his stanza, Spenser revealed a
harmony, sweetness, and color never before dreamed of in the English. Its
compass, which admitted of an almost endless variety of cadence, harmonized
well with the necessity for continuous narration. It appeals to the eye as
well as to the ear, with its now languid, now vigorous, but always graceful
turn of phrase.
Its movement has been compared to the smooth, steady,
irresistible sweep of water in a mighty river. Like Lyly, Marlowe, and
Shakespeare, Spenser felt the new delight in the pictorial and musical
qualities of words, and invented new melodies and word pictures. He aimed
rather at finish, exactness, and fastidious neatness than at ease, freedom,
and irregularity; and if his versification has any fault, it is that of
monotony. The atmosphere is always perfectly adapted to the theme.
6. DICTION AND STYLE. --The peculiar diction of the _Faerie Queene_ should
receive the careful attention of the student. As a romantic poet, Spenser
often preferred archaic and semi-obsolete language to more modern forms. He
uses four classes of words that were recognized as the proper and
conventional language of pastoral and romantic poetry; viz. (a)
_archaisms_, (b) _dialect_, (c) _classicisms_, and (d) _gallicisms_. He did
not hesitate to adopt from Chaucer many obsolete words and grammatical
forms. Examples are: the double negative with _ne_; _eyen_, _lenger_,
_doen_, _ycladd_, _harrowd_, _purchas_, _raught_, _seely_, _stowre_,
_swinge_, _owch_, and _withouten_. He also employs many old words from
Layamon, Wiclif, and Langland, like _swelt_, _younglings_, _noye_, _kest_,
_hurtle_, and _loft_. His dialectic forms are taken from the vernacular of
the North Lancashire folk with which he was familiar. Some are still a part
of the spoken language of that region, such as, _brent_, _cruddled_,
_forswat_, _fearen_, _forray_, _pight_, _sithen_, _carle_, and _carke_.
Examples of his use of classical constructions are: the ablative absolute,
as, _which doen_ (IV, xliii); the relative construction with _when_, as,
_which when_ (I, xvii), _that when_ (VII, xi); the comparative of the
adjective in the sense of "too," as, _weaker_ (I, xlv), harder (II, xxxvi);
the participial construction after _till_, as, _till further tryall made_
(I, xii); the superlative of location, as, _middest_ (IV, xv); and the old
gerundive, as, _wandering wood_ (I, xiii).
"His ship far come from watrie wilderness. " (III, xxxii. )
The use of alliteration, i. e. having several words in a line beginning with
the same letter, is another device frequently employed by Spenser for
musical effect; e. g. --
"In which that wicked wight his dayes doth weare. " (I, xxxvi. )
"Sweet slombring deaw, the which to sleep them biddes. " (I, xxxvi. )
5. VERSIFICATION. --In the handling of his stanza, Spenser revealed a
harmony, sweetness, and color never before dreamed of in the English. Its
compass, which admitted of an almost endless variety of cadence, harmonized
well with the necessity for continuous narration. It appeals to the eye as
well as to the ear, with its now languid, now vigorous, but always graceful
turn of phrase.
Its movement has been compared to the smooth, steady,
irresistible sweep of water in a mighty river. Like Lyly, Marlowe, and
Shakespeare, Spenser felt the new delight in the pictorial and musical
qualities of words, and invented new melodies and word pictures. He aimed
rather at finish, exactness, and fastidious neatness than at ease, freedom,
and irregularity; and if his versification has any fault, it is that of
monotony. The atmosphere is always perfectly adapted to the theme.
6. DICTION AND STYLE. --The peculiar diction of the _Faerie Queene_ should
receive the careful attention of the student. As a romantic poet, Spenser
often preferred archaic and semi-obsolete language to more modern forms. He
uses four classes of words that were recognized as the proper and
conventional language of pastoral and romantic poetry; viz. (a)
_archaisms_, (b) _dialect_, (c) _classicisms_, and (d) _gallicisms_. He did
not hesitate to adopt from Chaucer many obsolete words and grammatical
forms. Examples are: the double negative with _ne_; _eyen_, _lenger_,
_doen_, _ycladd_, _harrowd_, _purchas_, _raught_, _seely_, _stowre_,
_swinge_, _owch_, and _withouten_. He also employs many old words from
Layamon, Wiclif, and Langland, like _swelt_, _younglings_, _noye_, _kest_,
_hurtle_, and _loft_. His dialectic forms are taken from the vernacular of
the North Lancashire folk with which he was familiar. Some are still a part
of the spoken language of that region, such as, _brent_, _cruddled_,
_forswat_, _fearen_, _forray_, _pight_, _sithen_, _carle_, and _carke_.
Examples of his use of classical constructions are: the ablative absolute,
as, _which doen_ (IV, xliii); the relative construction with _when_, as,
_which when_ (I, xvii), _that when_ (VII, xi); the comparative of the
adjective in the sense of "too," as, _weaker_ (I, xlv), harder (II, xxxvi);
the participial construction after _till_, as, _till further tryall made_
(I, xii); the superlative of location, as, _middest_ (IV, xv); and the old
gerundive, as, _wandering wood_ (I, xiii).
