)
The rhythm of the meter is also varied by the alternating of end-stopped
and run-on lines, as in the last quotation.
The rhythm of the meter is also varied by the alternating of end-stopped
and run-on lines, as in the last quotation.
Spenser - Faerie Queene - 1
--The _Faerie Queene_ is written in the Spenserian
Stanza, a form which the poet himself invented as a suitable vehicle for a
long narrative poem. Suggestions for its construction were taken from three
Italian metres--the Ottava Rima, the Terza Rima, the Sonnet--and the
Ballade stanza. There are eight lines in the iambic pentameter measure
(five accents); e. g. --
v -/- | v -/- | v -/- | v -/- | v -/-
a gen | tle knight | was prick | ing on | the plaine
followed by one iambic hexameter, or Alexandrine (six accents); e. g. --
v -/- | v -/- | v -/- | v -/- | v -/- | v -/-
as one | for knight | ly giusts | and fierce | encount | ers fitt
The rhymes are arranged in the following order: _ab ab bc bcc_. It will be
observed that the two quatrains are bound together by the first two b
rhymes, and the Alexandrine, which rhymes with the eighth line, draws out
the harmony with a peculiar lingering effect. In scanning and reading it is
necessary to observe the laws of accentuation and pronunciation prevailing
in Spenser's day; e. g. in _learned_ (I, i), _undeserved_ (I, ii), and
_woundes_ (V, xvii) the final syllable is sounded, _patience_ (X, xxix) is
trisyllabic, _devotion_ (X, xl) is four syllables, and _entertainment_ (X,
xxxvii) is accented on the second and fourth syllables. Frequently there is
in the line a caesural pause, which may occur anywhere; e. g. --
"And quite dismembred hath; | the thirsty land
Dronke up his life; | his corse left on the strand. " (III, xx.
)
The rhythm of the meter is also varied by the alternating of end-stopped
and run-on lines, as in the last quotation. An end-stopped line has a pause
at the end, usually indicated by some mark of punctuation. A run-on line
should be read closely with the following line with only a slight pause to
indicate the line-unit. Monotony is prevented by the occasional use of a
light or feminine ending--a syllable on which the voice does not or cannot
rest; e. g. --
"Then choosing out few words most horrible. " (I, xxxvii. )
"That for his love refused deity. " (III, xxi. )
"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.
Stanza, a form which the poet himself invented as a suitable vehicle for a
long narrative poem. Suggestions for its construction were taken from three
Italian metres--the Ottava Rima, the Terza Rima, the Sonnet--and the
Ballade stanza. There are eight lines in the iambic pentameter measure
(five accents); e. g. --
v -/- | v -/- | v -/- | v -/- | v -/-
a gen | tle knight | was prick | ing on | the plaine
followed by one iambic hexameter, or Alexandrine (six accents); e. g. --
v -/- | v -/- | v -/- | v -/- | v -/- | v -/-
as one | for knight | ly giusts | and fierce | encount | ers fitt
The rhymes are arranged in the following order: _ab ab bc bcc_. It will be
observed that the two quatrains are bound together by the first two b
rhymes, and the Alexandrine, which rhymes with the eighth line, draws out
the harmony with a peculiar lingering effect. In scanning and reading it is
necessary to observe the laws of accentuation and pronunciation prevailing
in Spenser's day; e. g. in _learned_ (I, i), _undeserved_ (I, ii), and
_woundes_ (V, xvii) the final syllable is sounded, _patience_ (X, xxix) is
trisyllabic, _devotion_ (X, xl) is four syllables, and _entertainment_ (X,
xxxvii) is accented on the second and fourth syllables. Frequently there is
in the line a caesural pause, which may occur anywhere; e. g. --
"And quite dismembred hath; | the thirsty land
Dronke up his life; | his corse left on the strand. " (III, xx.
)
The rhythm of the meter is also varied by the alternating of end-stopped
and run-on lines, as in the last quotation. An end-stopped line has a pause
at the end, usually indicated by some mark of punctuation. A run-on line
should be read closely with the following line with only a slight pause to
indicate the line-unit. Monotony is prevented by the occasional use of a
light or feminine ending--a syllable on which the voice does not or cannot
rest; e. g. --
"Then choosing out few words most horrible. " (I, xxxvii. )
"That for his love refused deity. " (III, xxi. )
"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.
