Chapter VII: The Metrical Treatment of Syllables

§ =95.= As the root-syllables of words (leaving out of account the words of Romanic origin) almost universally retain their full syllabic value, whether occurring in arsis or in thesis, they require no notice in this chapter. We therefore confine our remarks to the formative and inflexional syllables, which, though as a rule found only in thesis, admit of being treated metrically in three different ways. (1) A syllable of this kind may retain its full value, so as to form by itself the entire thesis of a foot. (2) It may be slurred, so that it combines with another unaccented syllable to form a thesis. (3) It may lose its syllabic value altogether, its vowel being elided and its consonantal part (if it has any) being attracted to the root-syllable. By the last-mentioned process, as is well known, the number of inflexional syllables has been greatly reduced in Modern as compared with Middle and Old English.

The inflexional endings which in Middle English (we are here considering chiefly the language of Chaucer) have ordinarily the value of independent syllables are the following:--

_-es_ (_-is_, _-us_) in the gen. sing. and the plur. of the substantive, and in certain adverbs.

_-en_ in the nom. plur. of some substantives of the weak declension, in certain prepositions, in the infinitive, in the strong past participle, in the plur. of the pres. of strong verbs, and in the pret. plur. of all verbs.

_-er_ in the comparative.

_-est_ in the superlative and the 2nd person pres.

_-eth_ (_-ith_) in the 3rd person pres. sing., in the plur. pres. and plur. imperative.

_-ed_ (_-id_, _-ud_) in the past participles of weak verbs, and often in the 1st and 3rd person sing. and the whole plur. pret. of the weak verbs with short root-syllable, instead of the fuller endings _-ede_, _-eden_, which also occur; in weak verbs with long root-syllable the endings are _-de_, _-den_.

_-edest_, or _-dest_ in the 2nd pers. sing. pret. of the weak verb.

_-e_ in a certain number of inflexional forms of the verb (as e.g. in the inf. and in the past part. of strong verbs, where _n_ is dropped), and of the substantive and adjective, and as an ending of Romanic words, &c.

Of all these endings only the comparative and superlative suffixes _-er_, _-est_ are preserved in an unreduced state in Modern English. The final _-e_ has disappeared in pronunciation (with some exceptions occurring in Early Modern English). The important suffixes _-en_, _-es_, _-ed_, _-est_ (2nd pers. sing.), _-eth_ (for which _-s_, the northern ending, instead of _-es_, is commonly substituted) have been contracted through syncope so as to form one syllable with the root, except where the nature of the final consonant of the stem prevents syncope, e.g. in _-es_ and _-est_ after sibilants, in _-ed_ after dentals, in _-en_ after _v_, _s_, _t_, _d_, _k_ (as in _houses_, _ended_, _risen_, _written_, _hidden_, _broken_, _driven_). As, however, these are always full syllables they may here be disregarded. The ending _-edest_ has been shortened into _-edst_.

It is to be observed that the syncopation of the vowel (_e_) of the inflexional endings was not so nearly universal in Early Modern English as it is at present; and further, that it is still much less prevalent in poetry than in prose, because the poets for metrical reasons often preserve the fuller endings when in ordinary speech they are no longer used.[133] In examining the metrical treatment of the Early English inflexional endings, we shall therefore have occasion to consider the usage of the present day, notwithstanding the fact that some of these endings are obsolete in modern prose.

The chief difference between Early and Modern English with regard to the treatment of the inflexions is that in Early English poetry the full pronunciation is the rule--in accordance with the practice in ordinary speech--and the syncopation of the vowel (_e_, rarely _i_ or _u_) is the exception; while in Modern English it is the shortened pronunciation that is normal, the full syllabic form being used only exceptionally as a poetic licence.

§ =96.= The first point that requires notice is the treatment of the unaccented _e_ of words of three and four syllables in Middle English. The following observations are founded on those of ten Brink, _Chaucer's Sprache und Verskunst_, § 256.

1. If each of the two last syllables of a trisyllabic word has an unaccented _e_, one of them is generally elided or slurred over under the influence of the rhythmical accent. Thus the past tense singular of the weak verbs _clepede_, _werede_, _makede_, _lovede_ may be scanned either _clepte_, _werde_, _made_, _lovde_, or _cleped_, _wered_, _maked_, _loved_. Just in the same way the plural forms _clepeden_, _makeden_, &c., may be read either _clepten_, _maden_, &c., or _cleped_, _maked_, &c.; likewise the plural endings of nouns _faderes_, _hevenes_ may be pronounced _fadres_, _hevnes_ or _faders_, _hevens_. In Early Middle English, however, and also in the language of Chaucer, exceptions to this rule are found, trisyllabic scansion occurring chiefly in the plur. pret., e.g.:

_Þatt úre Lóverrd Iésu Chríst, swa þóledé þe déofell._
Orm. 11822.

_I dórste swére, they wéyedén ten póunde._
Chauc. Prol. 454.

_Yélledén_, id. N. Pr. Tale, 569; _wónedén_,
id. Leg. 712, &c.

The _e_ following upon an unaccented syllable which is capable of receiving the accent, whether in a word of Teutonic or Romanic origin, is commonly mute. E.g. _banere_, _manere_, _lovere_, _ladyes_, _housbondes_, _thousandes_ are generally to be pronounced in verse (as, indeed, they were probably pronounced in prose) as, _baner_, _maner_, _lover_, _ladys_, _housbonds_, _thousands_. But this _e_, on the other hand, not unfrequently remains syllabic, especially in the _Ormulum_, where it is dropped only before a vowel or _h_. E.g. _cneolénn meoklík(e) annd lútenn_ 11392, _meocnéss(e) is þrínne kíness_ 10699, _Forr án godnéss(e) uss háveþþ dón_ 185. Before a consonant or at the end of a line, however, it is always sounded: _Ennglísshe ménn to láre_ 279, _God wórd and gód tiþénnde_ 158, _forrþí birrþ áll Cristéne fóllc_ 303. _Goddspélless hállȝhe láre_ 14, 42, 54, _þa Góddspelléss neh álle_ 30. Other examples are: _And þó þet wéren gítserés_ Moral Ode, MS. D. l. 269; _For thóusandés his hóndes máden dýe_ Chauc. Troil. v, 1816; _enlúminéd_ id. A B C 73.

In words of four syllables a final _e_ which follows upon an unaccented syllable with a secondary accent may at pleasure either become mute or be fully pronounced. So words like _óutrydère_, _sóudanèsse_, _émperòures_, _árgumèntes_ may be read either as three or four syllables. Examples of _e_ sounded: _Bifórr þe Rómanísshe kíng_ Orm. 6902; _Annd síkerrlíke trówwenn_ ib. 11412; _þurrh hállȝhe góddspellwríhhtess_ ib. 160; _Till híse lérninngcníhhtess_ ib. 235; _Annd þúrrh þin góddcunndnésse_ ib. 11358; _An Gódd all únntodǽledd_ ib. 11518; _I glúternésse fállenn_ ib. 11636; _þurrh flǽshes únntrummnésse_ ib. 11938; _in stránge ráketéȝe_ Moral Ode, 281; _a thíng(e) unstédeféste_ ib. 319; _bifóre héovenkínge_ ib. 352, &c. Examples of _e_ mute: _And þá, þe úntreownéss(e) dide þán_ Moral Ode, 267; _þéosternéss(e) and éie_ ib. 279. Orm has it only before vowels or _h_: _Forr són se glúternéss(e) iss dǽd_ 11663, &c.

§ =97. Special remarks on individual inflexional endings.=

_-es_ (gen. sing., nom. plur., and adverbial) is in disyllables (a) as a rule treated as a full syllable, e.g. _Ac þét we dóþ for gódes lúue_ Moral Ode 56; _from éuery shíres énde_ Chauc. Prol. 15; _And élles cértain wére thei to blame_ ib. 375; (b) seldom syncopated or slurred over, e.g. _Ure álre hláuerd fór his þrélles_ Moral Ode, 189; _He mákede físses in þére sé_ ib. 83; _I sáugh his sléves purfíled_ Chauc. Prol. 193; _The ármes of dáun Arcíte_ id. Kn. Tale, 2033; _Or élles it wás_ id. Sq. Tale, 209.

In trisyllables the reverse is the case; only Orm, who always, as is well known, carefully counts his syllables, treats the ending as a full syllable. Otherwise syncopation or slurring over of the last syllable is the rule in these words: _a sómeres dáy_ Chauc. Sq. Tale, 64; _Gréyhoundes he hádde_ id. Prol. 190; _hóusbondes át that tóun_ id. Kn. Tale, 78; _the távernes wél_ id. Prol. 240.

In Modern English in all these cases elision of the _-e_ is the rule, those, of course, excepted in which the _-e_ is still sounded at the present day (after sibilants, dentals, &c.) and which therefore we need not discuss here. The use of _-es_ as a full syllable is otherwise quite exceptional, chiefly occurring in the Early Modern English poets, who use the sounded _e_, occasionally, to gain an unaccented syllable, e.g.:

_The níghtës cár the stárs abóut doth bríng._ Surrey, p. 15.

_Sometíme to líve in lóvës blíss._ Wyatt, p. 119.

_That líke would nót for áll this wórldës wealth._
Spens. F. Q. I. ix. 31.

_The héat doth stráight forsáke the límbës cóld_. Wyatt, p. 205.

_Bé your éyës yét moon-próofe._ Ben Jonson, i. 979.

The usual sound of these words is _night's_, _love's_, _world's_, _limbs_, _eyes_, and so in all similar cases.

The syncopation of the _-e_ in the adverbial _-es_ is indicated, as is well known, by the spelling, in certain cases: e.g. in _else_, _hence_, _thence_, whence (instead of the Middle English forms _elles_, _hennes_, &c.); but even in words where it is preserved in writing, as e.g. in _whiles_, _unawares_, it has become mute and has, as a rule, no metrical value in Modern English poetry. The archaic _certes_, however, is still always treated as a disyllabic, e.g.

_I wáil, I wáil, and certës that is trúe._
Mrs. Browning, i, p. 55.

§ =98.= The ending _-en_ (plur. nom. of nouns; prepositions; infinitive; strong past part.; plur. pres. and pret. of verbs) is in Middle English (a) commonly treated as a full syllable during the first period, and later on mostly, although not always, to avoid hiatus, before vowels and _h_, e.g. _His éyen stépe_ Chauc. Prol. 201; _Bifórenn Críst allmáhhtig Gódd_ Orm. 175; _Befóren ánd behýnde_ Alexius, ii. 393; _abóven álle nációuns_ Chauc. Prol. 53; _þú schalt béren hím þis ríng_ Floris and Blanch. 547; _Fór to délen with no swích poráille_ Chauc. Prol. 247; _bifrórenn_ Orm. 13856; _forlórenn_ ib. 1395; _Sche wás arísen ánd al rédy díght_ Chauc. Kn. T. 183; _Hir hósen wéren óf fyn scárlet reed_ id. Prol. 456; _For thís ye knówen álso wél as I_ ib. 730; _Swa þátt teȝȝ shúlenn wúrrþen þǽr_ Orm. 11867; _þatt háffdenn cwémmd himm í þiss líf_ ib. 210; _Ál þet wé misdíden hére_ Moral Ode, 99; (b) syncopated or slurred, especially in later times, after the _n_ has been dropped already in prepositions and verbal inflexions, e.g. _His póre féren he delde_ Alexius, ii. 210; _Hálles and bóures_, _óxen and plóugh_ ib. 12; _Bifórr þe Rómanísshe kíng_ (instead of _biforenn_) Orm. 6902; _Hastów had fléen al nýght_ Chauc. Manc. Prol. 17; _She bóthe hir yónge chíldren untó hir cálleþ_ id. Cl. T. 1081; _is bórn: þat wenten hím bifórn_ id. Man of Lawes T. 995-7; _withínne a lítel whýle_ id. Sq. T. 590; _And únderfóngen his kínedóm_ Flor. and Blanch. 1264; _þei máde sówen in þát cité_ Alexius, i. 577; _Bíddeþ his mén cómen him nére_ ib. 134; _Hórn_: _i-bórn_ King Horn, 137-8; _forlóren_: _Hórn_ ib. 479-80; _Was rísen and rómede_ Chauc. Kn. T. 207; _my líef is fáren on lónde_ id. N. Pr. T. 59; _And fórth we ríden a lítel móre than páas_ id. Prol. 825; _þei drýven him ófte tó skornínge_ Alexius, i. 308; _þei rísen alle úp with blíþe chére_ ib. 367; _þei cásten upón his cróun_ ib. 312; _And wíssheden þat hé were déd_ Alexius, ii. 335, &c.

In Modern English this ending is much more rare, and is hardly ever used as a full syllable of the verse. The plural ending _-en_ of the substantive occurs now and then in Wyatt's and Surrey's verse, as e.g. in _éyen_ instead of _éyes_, both in rhyme, e.g. _éyen_: _míne_ Sur. 14, and in the interior of the line, ib. 126, 128; Wyatt 8, 17, &c.

Prepositions ending in _-en_ are scarcely ever used now; sometimes the archaic _withóuten_ is to be met with in some Early Modern English poets, and then, of course, as a trisyllable: _withóuten dréad_ Sur. 95; _withóuten énd_ Spenser, F. Q. II. ix. 58. The obsolete infinitives in _-en_ may also be found sometimes in the writings of the same and other early Modern English poets: _in váyn_: _sáyen_ Sur. 31; _his flócke to víewën wíde_ Spenser, F. Q. I. i. 23; _to kíllën bád_ Shak. Pericles, II. Prol. 20. Likewise certain antiquated plural forms of the verb in _-en_: _dischárgën cléan_ Sur. 30; _fen_: _lífedën_ Spenser, F. Q. II. x. 7; _and wáxën ín their mírth_ Shak. M. N. Dr. II. i. 56.

It is only the _-en_ of the past participle that is at all often after certain consonants treated as a full syllable, e.g. _the frózen héart_ Sur. 1; _gótten out_ ib. 10; _the strícken déer_ ib. 54; _hast táken páin_ Wyatt, 99. Here the full forms are preserved in the ordinary language. It is only exceptionally that participles that have undergone shortening, as _come_, reassume their _n_ and regain an extra syllable, e.g. _tíll he cómën háth_ West (Poets, ix. 484). Contracted forms like _grown_, _known_, _drawn_, always remain monosyllabic, even in verse, and words like _fallen_, _swollen_, which are normally disyllabic, are often contracted in poetry: as _grown_ Sur. 13; _known_ ib. 45; _swoln_ ib. 8; _befallen_ ib. 26; _drawn_ Wyatt, 160. Complete contraction is effected either by elision of the final consonant of the stem, e.g. _ta'en_ (instead of _taken_) Sur. 44, or by slurring of the ending, e.g. _hath gíven a pláce_ Sur. 108; _is béaten with wínd and stórm_ ib. 157, &c.

§ 99. The comparative and superlative endings _-er_, _-est_ are, as a rule, syllabic. _Hórn is fáirer þáne beo hé_ King Horn, 330; _No lénger dwélle hý ne mýghte_ Alexius, ii. 85; _But ráther wólde he yéven_ Chauc. Prol. 487.

These endings are treated, moreover, as full syllables in the unaccented rhymes _Hǽngest_: _fǽirest_ Layamon, 13889-90; _Hǽngest_: _héndest_ ib. 13934-5. If an inflexional _-e_ is added to such words, so as to make them trisyllables, it is commonly elided or apocopated, e.g. _Fór he ís the fáireste mán_ Horn, 787; _hire grétteste óoth_ Chauc. Prol. 120; _The férreste in his párisshe_ ib. 494. Slurring or syncopation takes place in the following examples, _Sche móst wiþ hím no lénger abíde_ Sir Orfeo, line 328; _No lénger to héle óf he bráke_ Alexius, ii. 127; more rarely in the superlative, _Annd állre láttst he wúndedd wáss_ Orm. 11779, 11797; _Was thóu not fárist of ángels álle?_ Towneley Myst. p. 4.

In Modern English these endings are treated similarly. The comparative-ending _-er_ is mostly syllabic on account of the phonetic nature of the final _r_, and even if slurred, it does not entirely lose its syllabic character, e.g.:

_The nígher my cómfort ís to mé._ Surrey, p. 37.

_Or dó him míghtier sérvice ás his thrálls._
Milton, Par. L. i. 149.

The ending of the superlative _-est_, too, is commonly syllabic, e.g.

_In lóngest níght, or ín the shórtest dáy._ Surrey, p. 16.

_Now léss than smállest dwárfs, in nárrow róom._
Milton, P. L. i. 779.

Nevertheless many examples of syncopation are found, chiefly in the writings of the Early Modern English poets: e.g. _the méekest of mínd_ Sur. 77; _the swéet'st compánions_ Shak. Cymb. V. v. 349; _the stérn'st good níght_ id. Macb. II. ii. 4. Such forms are often used by Ben Jonson.

§ =100.= The ending _-est_ (2nd pers. pres. sing. ind. and pret. sing. of weak verbs) is in Middle English generally syllabic: _Annd séȝȝest swíllc annd swíllc was þú_ Orm. 1512; _Annd ȝíff þu féȝesst þréo wiþ þréo, þa fíndesst tú þær séxe_ id. 11523-4; _That bróughtest Tróye_ Chauc. N. Pr. T. 408; _Thow wálkest nów_ id. Kn. T.; _þat gód þat þóu þénkest do mé_ Alexius, ii. 304; _Hou mýȝtest þóu þus lónge wóne_ Alexius, i. 445; _And wóldest névere ben aknówe_ ib. 461.

Frequently, however, syncopation or slurring also occurs: _ȝiff þú seȝȝst tátt tu lúfesst Gódd_ Orm. 5188; _Þu wénest þat éch song béo grislích_ Owl and Night. 315; _Þu schríchest and ȝóllest to þíne fére_ ib. 223; _Thou knówest him well_ Chauc. Blaunche, 137; _Trówest thou? by our Lórd, I wíll thee sáy_ ib. 551; _þou mýȝtest have bén a grét lordíng_ Alexius, i. 511.

In Modern English syncopation is extremely common, e.g. _Now knówest thou áll_ Sur. 27; _That mákest but gáme_ Wyatt, 30, &c.; but the full syllabic pronunciation (in accordance with the modern prose usage) is also frequent, both in the poetry of the sixteenth century, e.g. _What frámëst thóu_ Sur. 158; _And lóokëst tó commánd_ Shak. H. VI. I. i. 38; and in that of recent times, e.g.:

_Súch as thou stándëst, pále in thé drear líght_.
Mrs. Browning, i. 4.

_Wan Scúlptor, wéepëst thóu to táke the cást?_
Tennyson, Early Sonn. 9.

§ =101.= The ending _-eth_, in the North _-es_, _-is_ (3rd pers. sing. pres., plur. pres., and 3rd pers. sing. imperative), is in most cases syllabic in Middle English, especially before the fifteenth century; e.g. _It túrrneþþ hémm till sínne_ Orm. 150; _þat spékeþþ óff þe déofell_ ib. 11944; _þat ǽfre annd ǽfre stándeþþ ínn_ ib. 2617; _þánne hi cumeþ éft_ Moral Ode, 236; _Hi wálkeþ éure_ ib. 239; _So príkeþ hem natúre_ Chauc. Prol. 11; _Cómeþ álle nów to mé_ Alexius, ii. 337; _Ánd a-fóngeþ ȝóure méde_ ib. 375.

But already in the earlier portion of this epoch of the language slurring or syncopation is often to be met with, and it became gradually more and more frequent. _Boc séȝȝþ þe bírrþ wel ȝémenn þé_ Orm. 11373, 11981; _Annd áȝȝ afftérr þe góddspell stánnt_ ib. 33; _And thínkeþ, here cómeþ my mórtel énemý_ Chauc. Kn. T. 785; _Comeþ nér, quoth hé_ id. Prol. 839; _þat háveþ traváille_ Alexius, i. 350; _Thai háldis this lánd agáyne resóune_ Barbour's Bruce, i. 488.

In Modern English the endings _-eth_ and _-es_ (_'s_) were at first used promiscuously; later _-eth_ is employed, if a full syllable is required, _-es_ (_'s_) if syncopation is intended; but this rule is not strictly observed.

The dropping of _e_ on the whole is the more usual: e.g. _begins_ Sur. 1; _seems_ ib. 2; _learns_ Wyatt, 1; also if written _-eth_: _On hím that lóveth not mé_ Wyatt, 57; _that séeth the héavens_ Sur. 2. Treatment as a full syllable is less usual: _But áll too láte Love léarnëth mé_ Sur. 5; _Lóve that lívëth and réignëth ín my thóught_ Sur. 12. Shakespeare and his contemporaries still use it somewhat frequently (cf. Hertzberg in _Shakspeare-Jahrb._ xiii, pp. 255-7), and occasional instances are found even in later poets, as for instance in Keats, who rhymes: _death: ouershádowéth_, p. 336; Chr. Rossetti, _déath: fashionéth_ p. 28, ii. ll. 5-6.

§ =102.= The ending _-ed_, in the North _-id_, _-it_ (past part. of weak verbs), is, as a rule, syllabic in Middle English: e.g. _Min Dríhhtin háfeþþ lénedd_ Orm. 16; _Annd ícc itt háfe fórþedd té_ ib. 25; _Annd tǽrfore háfe icc túrrnedd ítt_ ib. 129; _ipróved ófte síthes_ Chauc. Prol. 485; _hadde swówned wíth a dédly chére_ ib. Kn. T. 55; _Nóu is Álex dwélled þóre_ Alexius, i. 121; _Lóverd, iþánked bé þou áy_ ib. 157; _A wéile gret quhíle thar duellyt hé_ Barbour, Bruce, i. 359.

But slurring and syncopation likewise are of frequent occurrence: _þatt háffdenn cwémmd himm í þiss líf_ ib. 211; _þet scúlle béo to déþe idémd_ Moral Ode, 106; _His lónge héer was kémbd behýnde his bák_ Chauc. Kn. T. 1285; _Fulfíld of íre_ ib. 82; especially in words with the accent on the antepenultima, e.g. _Ybúried nór ibrént_ ib. 88; _and hán hem cáried sófte_ ib. 153; _And ben yhónowrid ás a kýng_ Alexius, i. 5, 12 (MS. N).

In this ending, too, syncopation (_-ed_, _'d_, _t_) is the rule already in the earliest Modern English poets: _offer'd_ Sur. 6; _transgrést_ ib. 11; _that prómised wás to thée_ ib. 35. The use of it as a full syllable, however, is very frequently to be met with, chiefly in participles used as adjectives: _the párchëd gréen restórëd ís with sháde_ Sur. 1; _by wéll assúrëd móan_ Wyatt, 4; _but ármëd síghs_ ib. 4; _false féignëd gráce_ ib. 4. The dramatists of the Elizabethan time (cf. _Engl. Metrik_, ii. 336) similarly often use the full ending; and even in modern poets it is not uncommon: _where wé've involvëd óthers_ Burns, Remorse, l. 11 ; _The chármëd God begán_ Keats, Lamia, p. 185, &c.

§ =103.= The ending _-ed_ (_-od_, _-ud_) of the 1st and 3rd pers. sing. pret. and the whole plur. pret. of weak verbs, which is shortened from _-ede_, _-ode_, _-ude_, _-eden_, _-oden_, _-uden_ (cf. § 96), is in Middle English usually syllabic: e.g. _Mést al þét me líked(e) þó_ Moral Ode, 7 ; _Oure lóverd þát al máked(e) iwís_ Pop. Science, 2; _He énded(e) and cléped(e) yt Léicestre_ Rob. of Glouc., p. 29; _The fáder hem lóued(e) álle ynóȝ_ ib.; _Híre overlíppe wýpud(e) sché so cléne_ Chauc. Prol. 107; _An óutridére þat lóved(e) vénerýe_ ib. 165; _Ne máked hím a spíced cónsciénce_ ib. 526; _þei préced évere nére and nére_ Alexius, i. 583 (MS. V).

As several of these examples show, slurring occasionally takes place, so that the ending forms part of a disyllabic thesis, but real syncopation never occurs; cf. further: _Ánd asségit it rýgorouslý_ Barbour, Bruce, i. 88; _and évere I hóped(e) of be to hére_ Alexius, ii. 482.

With regard to these endings from the beginning of the Modern English epoch onward syncopation (_[e]d_, _'d_, _t_) is the rule; _defied_ Sur. 10; _sustain'd_ ib. 15; _opprest_ Wyatt, 107. But the full syllable not infrequently occurs: _I lóokëd báck_ Sur. 4; _I néver próvëd nóne_ Wyatt, 39. It is characteristic of Spenser's archaistic style, and is often met with in the Elizabethan dramatists; Shakespeare, however, uses it much more frequently in his earlier than in his later plays. The more recent poets admit it in single cases: _said_: _vánishéd_ Keats, Lamia, p. 202.

§ =104.= The final _-e_ is treated in Modern English poetry in the same manner as in Modern High German: it may be either used as a thesis, or be slurred over, or become quite silent. In Middle English, however, the treatment of the final _-e_ depends much more on the following word than on the etymological origin of the _-e_. It becomes mute, of course, mostly before _h_ or a vowel, but is generally preserved (as a thesis) or slurred before a consonant. This rule has, however, many exceptions.

Orm and other poets of the beginning of the thirteenth century give the final _e_ its full syllabic value in certain classes of words in which Chaucer[134] in the second half of the fourteenth century generally slurs it.

These words are the pronouns _hire_, _oure_, _ȝoure_, _here_, _myne_, _thyne_ (also spelled without _e_), if they do not stand in rhyme; the plural forms _thise_, _some_, _swiche_, _whiche_; the past part. of strong verbs with an originally short root, the inflexional _n_ being apocopated, e.g. _come_, _write_, _stole_; the 2nd pers. sing. of the strong pret., e.g. _bare_, _tooke_, except such words as _songe_, _founde_, and others of the same group; the preterites _were_ and _made_; the nouns _sone_, _wone_; the French words in _-ye_, _-aye_, _-eye_, and, finally, the words _before_, _tofore_, _there_, _heere_.

In most of these cases it is easy enough to give examples of the syllabic use of the _-e_, both from the earliest and from later poets: _Off úre sáwless néde_ Orm. 11402; _þatt úre Láferrd Iésu Críst_ ib. 11403, 11803, &c.; _ȝérne hy þónkede óure dríghte_ Alexius, ii. 35; _Annd ȝúre sáwless fóde íss éc_ Orm. 11691, &c.; _þatt ȝúre préostess hállȝhenn_ ib. 11694; _Till híse déore þéowwess_ ib. 11556; _Att álle þíne néde_ ib. 11366, 11914, &c.; Owl and Nightingale, 220, 221, &c.; _Cástel gód an míne ríse_ ib. 175, 282; _Forgíve hémm hére sínne_ Orm. 86; _Annd wílle iss híre þrídde máhht_ ib. 11509; _For híre héorte wás so grét_ Owl and N. 43, 44, &c.; _At súme síþe hérde ich télle_ ib. 293; _þése wíkkede fóde_ ib. 333; _And máde mé wíþ him ríde_ Sir Orfeo, 153. &c.

All these words may, however, also be found with slurring or syncopation of the _e_, even in Early Middle English: _Annd þéowwtenn wél wiþþ áll þin máhht_ Orm. 11393; _þa wǽre he þǽr bikǽchedd_ ib. 11628; _Annd súme itt áll forrwérrþenn_ ib. 11512; _Min héorte atflíhþ and fált mi túnge_ Owl and N. 37; _þár þe úle sóng hir tíde_ ib. 26, 441; _þat ich schúlle tó hire fléo_ ib. 442; _he wére ischóte_ ib. 23, 53, &c. In later Middle English this is more common: _An ýmage óf hire sóne_ Alexius i. 105; _þeróf to gód þei máde here móne_ ib. 32; _Sómme þat óf þe ínne wére_ Alexius ii. 325; _Fáste þey wére ysóught þoróugh_ ib. 14; _And lóke síre at ȝóure pilgríme_ ib. 394; _And thére our óst bigán_ Chauc. Prol. 827; _Entúned ín hire nóse_ ib. 123; _Nought gréveth ús youre glórie ánd honóur_ id. Kn. T. 59; _þúrgh yóure géntilnésse_ ib. 62; _ánd hire fálse whéel_ ib. 67; _And pílgryms wére they álle_ Chauc. Prol. 26, 59; _At níght was cóme intó that hóstelríe_ ib. 23; _With hím ther wás his sóne, a yóung squyér_ ib. 79; _In mótteléye and hígh_ ib. 271; _cómpanýe in yóuthe_ ib. 461; _no vílanýe is ít_ ib. 740, &c.

§ =105.= The following examples serve to show the arbitrary use of the final _-e_ in other words, either (_a_) syllabic, or (_b_) slurred or syncopated.

=1. Infinitive=, (a) _And stónde úpe gódes knýght_ Alexius ii. 269; _to télle yów áll the condícióun_ Chauc. Prol. 38. (b) _to táke our wéy_ ib. 34; _Mén mote ȝeve sílver_ ib. 232.

=2. Past part.= of strong verbs, (a) _ydráwe né ybóre_ Sq. T. 336; _þó þe chíld ybóre wás_ Alexius ii. 37; (b) _Ybóre he wás in Róme_ ib. 6; _Though hé were cóme agáin_ Chauc. Sq. T. 96; _ycóme from hís viáge_ id. Prol. 77, &c.

=3.= Various =inflexional endings of the verb=, (a) _þát ich réde wé begínne_ Cant. Creat. E. 225; _And yét I hópe, pár ma fáy_ Chauc. Sir Thopas l. 2010; _and máde fórward_ id. Prol. 33; _and wénte fór to dóon_ ib. 78; _yet hádde hé but lítel góld in cóffre_ ib. 298; _And séyde tó her þús_ Alexius i. 69; _gládly wólde préche_ Chauc. Prol. 480. (b) _devóutly wólde he téche_ ib. 481; _I trówe ther nówher nón is_ ib. 524; _I trówe some mén_ id. Sq. T. 213; _So hádde I spóken_ id. Prol. 31; _hádde he bé_ ib. 60; _if thát sche sáwe a móus_ ib. 144; _chíldren betwéen them hédde þei nóne_ Alexius i. 31; _Bote méte fóunde þeȝ nón saundóute_ Cant. Creat. O. 62.

=4. Inflexional endings of Germanic substantives=, (a) _His nékke whít_ Chauc. Prol. 238; _Of wóodecráft_ ib. 210; _whán the sónne wás to réste_ ib. 30; _a spánne bróod_ ib. 155; _At méte wél itáught_ ib. 127; _Ne óf his spéche dáungeróus_ ib. 517; _As wéll in spéche ás in cóntenánce_ id. Sq. T. 93; _of sínne léche_ Alexius i. 59; _He ȝéde tó a chírche-héi_ ib. 97; _ál for lóve míne_ Alexius ii. 87; _of héwe bríght_ ib. 100; _while gód in érþe máde mán_ Cant. Creat. E. 26. (b) _Tróuthe and honóur_ Chauc. Prol. 46; _Thát no drópe ne fílle_ ib. 131; _In hópe to stónden_ ib. 88; _And bý his sýde a swérd_ ib. 112; _tó the pýne of hélle_ Cant. Creat. O. 240; _þurch príde þat ín his wórd was líȝt_ ib. E. 14.

=5. Romanic substantives=, (a) _átte síege hádde he bé_ Chauc. Prol. 56; _ín hire sáuce dépe_ ib. 129; _Is sígne thát a mán_ ib. 226. (b) _And báthed éuery véyne in swích licóur_ ib. 3; _of áge he wás_ ib. 81; _his bénefíce to hýre_ ib. 507.

=6. Adjectives.= (a) Chiefly after the definite article, pronouns, and in plural forms: _and ín the Gréte Sée_ Chauc. Prol. 59; _The téndre cróppes ánd the yónge sónne_ ib. 7; _his hálfe cóurs irónne_ ib. 8; _wíth his swéete bréethe_ ib. 5; _to séken stráunge strondes_ ib. 13; _the férste niȝt_ Alexius i. 55; _þat ílke dáy_ ib. 159; _þe déde córs_ ib. 420; _Póuere mén to clóþe and féde_ ib. 10, 13, 93, &c.; _cómen of hýe kínne_ Alex. ii. 99; _with mílde stévene_ ib. 72; _annd álle fúle lússtess_ Orm. 11656. (b) Chiefly after the indefinite article, but in other cases as well: _Annd álle þe flǽshess kággerléȝȝc_ Orm. 11655; _a fáyr forhéed_ Chauc. Prol. 254; _as ís a póure scolér_ ib. 260; _as méke as ís a máyde_ ib. 69; _a shéef of pécock árwes bríght and kéne_ ib. 104.

=7. Adverbs and prepositions.= (a) _Míldelíche hé him grétte_ Alexius ii. 296; _Ríght abóute nóne_ ib. 387; _And sófte bróuȝte hém obédde_ ib. 23; _Ful ófte time_ ib. 52; _Ful lúde sóngen_ Chauc. Sq. T. 55; _Abóute príme_ id. Kn. T. 1331; _abóue érpe_ Cant. Creat. E. 573. (b) _Fáste þei wére ysóught þorúgh_ Alexius ii. 14; _And éek as lóude as dóth_ Chauc. Prol. 171; _Ther ís namóre to séyne_ ib. 314; _stílle as ány stóon_ id. Sq. T. 171; _Abóute this kýng_ id. Kn. T. 1321; _Chíldren betwéne hem hédde þei nóne_ Alexius i. 31; _wiþýnne a whýle_ Cant. Creat. O. 29; _ȝif ȝít oure lórd abóue þe ský_ ib. O. 186.

=8. Numerals.= (a) _she hádde fýve_ Chauc. Prol. 460; _Fúlle séventéne ȝére_ Alexius i. 179, 187, 321; _of fíue þóusende wínter and ón_ Cant. Creat. E. 462; _nóþer férste tíme ne lást_ ib. O. 356. (b) _and fíue and twénti wínter and mó_ ib. E. 463; _táken þe ténde part óf þy gúod_ ib. O. 332; _álle þe béstis_ ib. 173; _For séventene ȝér hít is gán_ Alexius i. 194.

§ =106.= In poems written in more southern dialects the final _-e_ retains its syllabic value later than in those of the North, in agreement with the actual usage of the dialects of these districts. _Sir Tristrem_ (c. 1300) has still many syllabic _e_'s in thesis; in the _Cursor Mundi_ (c. 1320) and the _Metrical Homilies_ (c. 1330) they are not so numerous, and they are still rarer in the poems of Laurence Minot (c. 1352) and of Thomas of Erceldoune. The editor of the last-mentioned poet, Prof. Alois Brandl, rejects the syllabic final _-e_ altogether in opposition to ten Brink and Luick. In Barbour's _Bruce_ (c. 1375) it is entirely silent.[135]

But in the later poetry of the North, which was largely under the influence of southern English models, chiefly of Chaucer, many inflexional endings, especially various kinds of final _-e_, have a metrical value. King James I, one of the most eminent Scottish poets, e.g., is a strict follower of Chaucer in this respect, both in versification and language.[136] This will be shown by the following examples: _Myn éyen gán to smért_ stanza 8; _To séken hélp_ 99; _that néver chánge wóld_ 83; _That féynen óutward_ 136; _That ménen wéle_ 137; _We wéren áll_ 24; _Lýke to an hérte schápin vérilý_ 48; _Thús sall on thé my chárge béne iláid_ 120; _in lúfe fór a whíle_ 134; _Now, swéte bírd, say ónes tó me pépe, I dée for wó; me thínk thou gýnnis slépe_ 57; _And ón the smále gréne twístis sát_ 33; _Withín a chámber, lárge, równ, and fáire_ 77.

Other Scottish poets, like Dunbar, use the final _e_ in the same way, but much more sparingly: _Amáng the gréne ríspis ánd the rédis_ Terge 56; _And gréne lévis dóing of déw doun fléit_ Thrissil and Rois 49; _scho sénd the swífte Ró_ ib. 78; _when Mérche wés with váriand wíndis past_ ib. 1.

Only the inflexional endings of substantives and of verbs are used by Dunbar somewhat more frequently as full syllables, e.g.: _Had máid the bírdis to begín thair hóuris_ Thrissil and Rois 5; _of flóuris fórgit néw_ ib. 18; _the blástis óf his hórne_ ib. 34; _In át the wíndow lúkit bý the dáy_ ib. 10; _And hálsit mé_ ib. 11; _Bálmit in déw_ ib. 20; _The pérlit dróppis schúke_ Terge 14. Even Lyndesay still uses certain full endings now and then in this way: _Éleméntis: intént is_ Monarchie 247-8; _thay cán nocht ús it: abúsit_ Satire 2897-8; _Quhow Í ressávit cónfort_ Monarchie 132; _Lyke áurient péirles ón the twístis háng_ ib. 136. But the final _-e_ is hardly ever found in his verses forming a thesis.

On the other hand some contemporary authors of the South, reckoned as included in the Modern English period, continue to admit in several cases the syllabic final _-e_, but this can only be regarded as an exception. E. g. _The sótë séason, that búd and blóom forth bríngs_ Surrey, p. 3; _Thát the Gréeks bróught to Tróyë tówn_ ib. 21; _Hersélf in shádow óf the clósë níght_ ib. 138; _Agáinst the búlwark óf the fléshë fráil_ Wyatt 207; _But tréated áfter á divérsë fáshion_ ib. 7.

Spenser does not seem to admit syllabic final _-e_, in spite of his archaic style.

§ =107.= Like the inflexional syllables, the suffixes of derivatives may be treated in a twofold manner. Those of Germanic origin for the most part call for little remark, as many of them have coalesced with the root of the word, and others, as e.g. the syllables _-ing_, _-ness_, _-y_, _-ly_, can, on account of their phonetic character, only be metrically treated as full syllables. Only a few fluctuate in their metrical treatment, as e.g. _-en_, _-er_, _-le_, mostly after a consonant; these will be dealt with in the section on the slurring of syllables.

Of much greater importance are the formative endings of Romanic origin, especially those which begin with an _i_, _e_, or _u_ + a vowel, as _-iage_, _-ian_, _-iaunt_, _-iance_, _-ience_, _-ient_, _-ier_, _-ioun_, _-ious_, _-eous_, _-uous_, _-ial_, _-ual_, _-iat_, _-iour_. Such endings may either have their full value, or be slurred in rhythm, i.e. they may be treated either as disyllabic or as monosyllabic.

The full forms do not occur frequently in the interior of the line, but mostly in the last foot, where the endings bear the last arsis and offer a convenient rhyme. Hence we conclude, that the slurred pronunciation (synizesis) had in the later Middle English period already become general in ordinary speech, although the full value is in rhyme-words certainly more common: e.g. _viáge: pílgrimáge_ Chaucer, Prol. 77-8; _langáge: márriáge_ ib. 211-12; _térciáne: báne_ N. Pr. Tale 139-40; _córdiál: spéciál_ Prol. 443-4; _ethériáll: impériáll_ Lyndesay, Monarchie 139-40; _curát: licénciát_ Chauc. Prol. 219-20; _láste: ecclésiáste_ ib. 707-8; _réverénce: cónsciénce_ ib. 225-6; _offénce: páciénce_ Kn. T. 225-6; _dísposícióun: cónstellációun_ ib. 229-30; _prisóun: compássióun_ ib. 251-2; _áscendént: páciént_ Prol. 117-18; _obédiént: assént_ ib. 851-2; _óriént: résplendént_ Lyndesay, Monarchie 140-2; _glorióus: précióus_ ib. 28-32, 44-5, 48-52, 75-9, 151-2, &c.; _ymágynációun: impréssióun: illusióun_ James I, Kingis Quair, st. 12; _nációun: mýlióun: méncióun_ ib. st. 78. Slurred endings: _Ful wél bilóved and fámuliér was hé_ Chauc. Prol. 215; _And spéciallý_ ib. 15; _a cúrious pýn_ ib. 196; _Perpétuellý, not ónly fór a yéer_ Kn. T. 600; _Suspécious wás the_ Clerk's T. 540; _This sérgeant cám_ ib. 575, 582, &c.

Later on slurring becomes more frequent, mainly in the North, e.g. in Dunbar's poems: _with váriand wíndis pást_ Thrissil and Rois 1; _wíth ane órient blást_, ib. 3; _So bústeous ár the blástis_ ib. 35; _ane ínhibítioun tháir_ ib. 64 (but _condítióun: renówn: fassóun_ 79-82); _A rádius crówn_ ib. 132; Lyndesay, Monarchie: _On sénsuall Lúste_ 9; _Lyke áurient péirles_ 136; _and búrial bémes_ 142; _his régioun áuroráll_ 148; _Quhilk sítuate ár_ 166; _melódious ármonýe_ 195; _off thát mellífluous, fámous_ 232; _And síc vaine súperstítioun tó refúse_ 242; _The quhílk gaif sápience_ 249.

In the Modern English period of the language slurring of such syllables is the rule, in conformity with the actual pronunciation in prose, contrary to the usage of Chaucer and other Early Middle English poets. Only exceptionally the unshortened use obtains chiefly in earlier Modern English, as the following examples show:

_To wóe a máid in wáy of márriáge._
Shakesp. Merch. II. ix. 13.

_My búsiness cánnot bróok this dálliánce._ id. Err. IV. i. 59.

_Becáme the áccents óf the váliánt._ id. 2 Henry IV, II. iii. 25.

_And yét 'tis álmost 'gáinst my cónsciénce._ id. Haml. v. ii. 307.

_I dó volítient, nót obédiént._ Mrs. Browning, i, p. 6.

_The véry chúrches are fúll of sóldiers._
Coleridge, Piccolomini. i. sc. 1.

_And áfter hárd condítións of péace._ Surrey, p. 173.

_Áll the sad spáces óf oblívión._ Keats, p. 257.

_But Brútus sáys he wás ambítióus._
Shakesp. Caesar, III. ii. 91.

_And lóoking róund I sáw, as úsuál._ D. G. Rossetti, i. p. 64.

For other examples cf. _Metrik_, ii. § 40.

§ =108.= By the side of this artificial attribution of full syllabic value to Romanic endings which in ordinary pronunciation are contracted, there are many examples of the opposite process, namely the contraction, for metrical purposes, of words that are ordinarily pronounced in full. Both these devices serve the same purpose, that of adjusting the number of syllables to the requirements of the rhythm.

In the former case a syllable which commonly is pronounced quickly and indistinctly is uttered more distinctly and more slowly than in ordinary speech. In the latter, a couple of successive syllables or words are uttered more indistinctly and quickly than in ordinary speech, frequently so much so that a syllable may be entirely suppressed. Hence the slurring of syllables results, according to the degree of contraction, either in a disyllabic thesis, or in the complete coalescence of two syllables. The former takes place if the final unaccented vowel of a polysyllable is run into the following unaccented word consisting of, or beginning with, a vowel, e.g.:

_For mány a mán | so hárd is óf his hérte._ Chauc. Prol. 229.

_Nowhér so bísy a mán | as hé ther nás._ ib. 321.

_Wél coude she cárie a mórsel | ánd wel képe._ ib. 130.

_With múchel glórie | and grét solémpnitée._ id. Kn. T. 12.

_Oh! háppy are théy | that háve forgíveness gótt._
Wyatt 211.

_My kíng, my cóuntry I séek, | for whóm I líve._
ib. 173.

_Sórry am Í | to héar what Í have héard._
Shakesp. 2 Henry VI, II. i. 193.

In cases like these it cannot be supposed that there is actual elision of a syllable, by which _many a_, _busy a_, _carie a_, _glorie and_, _happy are_, _country I_, _sorry am_, would be reduced to regular disyllabic feet. In several of the instances such an assumption is forbidden not only by the indistinctness of pronunciation which it would involve, but also by the caesura.

Further, we find both in Middle and in Modern English poetry many examples of similar sequences in which there is neither elision nor slurring, the syllable ending with a vowel forming the thesis, and the following syllable beginning with a vowel forming the arsis. Hiatus of this kind has always been perfectly admissible in English verse.

_And yít he wás but ésy óf dispénse._ Chaucer, Prol. 441.

_Mówbray's síns so héavy ín his bósom._
Shakesp. Rich. II, I. ii. 50.

§ =109.= The second possibility, viz. complete amalgamation of two syllables, may occur if a word with an initial vowel or _h_ is preceded by a monosyllabic word, standing in thesis, e.g. _th'estat_, _th'array_ Chauc. Prol. 716; _th'ascendent_ ib. 117; _t'allege_ (_to allege_) Kn. T. 2142; _nys_ (_ne ys_) ib. 43. Even in Modern English poetry such contractions occur rather frequently: _Th'altar_ Sur. 118; _t'assay_ Wyatt 157; _N'other_ ib. 21; often also the words are written in full, although the first vowel is metrically slurred or elided: _the͡ ónly darling_ Shakesp. All's Well, II. i. 110. Yet in all such cases the entire loss of the syllable must not be assumed unless the distinctness of the pronunciation--which must be the only guide in such matters, not the silent reading with the eyes--be sufficiently preserved.[137]

Accordingly words like _the_, _to_ are not so often contracted with the following word, as _ne_, the amalgamation of which, with the verb to which it belongs, is in accordance with normal Middle English usage: _nas_ = _ne was_, _nil_ = _ne wil_, _nolde_ = _ne wolde_, _noot_ = _ne woot_, _niste_ = _ne wiste_, e.g.:

_There nas no dore that he nolde heve of harre._
Chauc. Prol. 550.

Neither in Middle English nor in Modern English poetry, however, is there any compulsion to use such contractions for the purpose of avoiding the _hiatus_, which never was prohibited. They merely serve the momentary need of the poet. Forms like _min_ and _thin_, it is true, are regularly used by Middle English poets before vowels, and _my_ and _thy_ before consonants, and Chaucer applies--according to ten Brink--_from_, _oon_, _noon_, _an_, _-lych_, _-lyche_ before vowels, and _fro_, _a_, _o_, _no_, _-ly_ before consonants. But many examples of epic caesura show that ten Brink goes too far in maintaining that hiatus was strictly avoided, e.g.: _Whan théy were wónnë; | and ín the Gréete sée_ Prol. 59. This is still more clearly shown by verses in which the final _-e_ forms a necessary thesis before a vowel, e.g.:

_Fro the senténcë | óf this trétis lýte._
Sir Thopas 2153.

_Than hád yóur tálë | ál be tóld in váyn._
N. Pr. Prol. 3983.

§ =110.= Slurring or contraction is still more frequently the result of indistinct pronunciation or entire elision of a vowel in the interior of a word. This is especially the case with e (or another vowel) in the sequence: conson. + _e_ + _r_ + vowel or _h_, where _e_ is slurred over or syncopated: e.g. _And báthed év(e)ry véin_ Chauc. Prol. 3; _Thy sóv(e)rein témple wól I móst honóuren_ Kn. T. 1549; and _év(e)ry trée_ Sur. 9; _the bóist(e)rous wínds_ Sur. 21; _if ám(o)rous fáith_ Wyatt 15; _a dáng(e)rous cáse_ Sur. 4, &c. The full pronunciation is, of course, here also possible: _and dángeróus distréss_ Sur. 150. Slurring of a vowel is also caused by this combination of sounds formed by two successive words: _a bétre envýned mán_ Chauc. Prol. 342; _Forgétter of páin_ Wyatt 33. Other words of the same kind are _adder_, _after_, _anger_, _beggar_, _chamber_, _silver_, _water_, &c.[138] The same rule applies to the group _e_ + _l_ + vowel or _h_ (also _l_ + _e_ + vowel or _h_): _hire wýmpel ͡ipynched was_ Chauc. Prol. 151; _At mány a nóble ͡arríve_ ib. 60; _nóble ͡and hígh_ Wyatt 55; _the néedle his fínger prícks_ Shak. Lucrece 319.

If a consonant takes the place of the vowel or _h_ at the end of such a group of sounds, we have a disyllabic thesis instead of slurring: _With hórrible féar as óne that gréatly dréadeth_ Wyatt 149; _The cómmon péople by númbers swárm to ús_ Shak. 3 Hen. VI, IV. ii. 2. Similar slurrings are to be found--although more seldom and mainly in Modern English poetry--with other groups of sounds, e.g.: _én'mies sword_ Sur. 137; _théat'ner_ ib. 162; _prís'ners_ ib. 12. The vowel _i_, also, is sometimes slurred; _Incónt(i)nent_ Wyatt, 110; _dést(i)ny_ ib. 8, &c. In all these cases we must of course recognize only slurring, not syncopation of the vowel; and in general these words are used with their full syllabic value in the rhythm of a verse.

Another kind of slurring--occurring almost exclusively in Modern English poetry--is effected by contraction of a short vowel with a preceding long one, so that a disyllabic word becomes monosyllabic, e.g., _flower_, _lower_, _power_, _tower_, _coward_, _prayer_, _jewel_, _cruel_, _doing_, _going_, _being_, _seeing_, _dying_, _playing_, _praying_, _knowing_, &c.: _Whose pówer divíne_ Sur. 118; _prayer: prayr_ Wyatt 26; _His crúel despíte_ Sur. 7.

All these words are, of course, not less frequently used as disyllables sometimes even when their usual pronunciation is monosyllabic, e.g.:

_How óft have Í, my déar and crúël foe._ Wyatt 14.

_I'll práy a thóusand práyërs fór thy death._
Shak. Meas. III. i. 146.

_There ís no pówer ín the tóngue of mán._ id. Merch. IV. i. 241.

§ =111.= Other groups of sounds which allow slurring are: vowel + _r_ + vowel, where the second vowel may be slurred, e.g., _spirit_, _alarum_, _warrant_, _nourish_, _flourish_, &c.; _My fáther's spírit in árms!_ Shak. Haml. I. ii. 255; _flóurishing péopled tówns_ id. Gentl. V. iv. 3; _I wárrant, it wíll_ id. Haml. I. ii. 243. In the group vowel + _v_ + _e(i)_+cons. the _v_ is slurred, if a consonant appears as the initial sound of the following word, and _e(i)_ if the following word begins with a vowel. Such words are: _heaven_, _seven_, _eleven_, _devil_, _even_, _ever_, _never_, &c.; e.g., _and é'en the whóle_ Wyatt 80; _had néver his fíll_ id. 108; _disdáin they né'er so múch_ Shak. 1 Hen. VI, V. iii. 98; _and drível on péarls_ Wyatt 195. These words have, of course, not less frequently their full syllabic value: _Of Héaven gátes_ Wyatt 222; _Then sét this drível óut of dóor_ Sur. 79. Also _th_ between vowels may be subjected to slurring, as in _whether_, _whither_, _hither_, _thither_, _either_, _neither_, _rather_, _further_, &c.; e.g., _go ásk him whíther he góes_ Shak. 1 Hen. VI, II. iii. 28; _Good Sír, say whéther you'll ánswer mé or nót_, id. Caes. V. iv. 30; _Whether óught to ús unknówn_ id. Haml. II. ii. 17.

When a syllabic inflexional ending forms one thesis with a following syllable, as in _The ímages of revólt_ Shak. Lear, II. iv. 91; _I hád not quóted him_ id. Haml. II. i. 112, &c., it is preferable to assume a disyllabic thesis rather than a slurring. Sometimes, however, the _-ed_ of past participles (rarely of preterites) of verbs ending in _t_ is actually cut off, as _torment_ instead of _tormented_ Wyatt 137; _deject_ instead of _dejected_ Shak. Haml. III. i. 163.

Contractions of another kind--partly to be explained by negligent colloquial pronunciation--are: _ta'en_ (=_taken_) Wyatt 182; _I'll_ (=_I will_) Shak. Tempest, II. ii. 419; _carry 'em_ (=_carry them_) id. 2 Hen. VI, I. iv. 76, &c.; _Ma(d)am_ id. Gent. II. i. 6; _in's_ (=_in his_), _doff_ (=_do off_), _dout_ (=_do out_), _o' the_ (=_of the_), _w'us_ (=_with us_), _let's_ (=_let us_), _thou'rt_ (=_thou art_), &c., &c.

Finally, we have to mention the apocopation, for metrical reasons, of unaccented prefixes, as _'bove_ (_above_), _'cause_ (_because_), _'longs_ (_belongs_), &c., which on the whole cannot easily be misunderstood.[139]

§ =112=. A contrast to these various forms of shortening is presented by the =lengthening= of words for metrical purposes, which we have already in part discussed in the preceding chapter (see for examples § 87). Disyllabic words are made trisyllabic by inserting an _e_ (or rarely _i_) between mute and liquid, e.g., _wond_(_e_)_rous_, _pilg_(_e_)_rim_, _count_(_e_)_ry_, _breth_(_e_)_ren_, _ent_(_e_)_rance_, _child(e)ren_, _Eng_(_e_)_land_, _troub_(_e_)_lous_, _light_(_e_)_ning_, _short_(_e_)_ly_, _jugg_(_e_)_ler_, &c.[140]

Among the monosyllabic words or accented endings of words which admit of a disyllabic pronunciation for the sake of metre we have mainly to consider such as have a diphthong in their root, as _our_, _sour_, _devour_, _hour_, _desire_, _fire_, _ire_, _sire_, _hire_, _squire_, _inquire_, &c., or such as approach diphthongal pronunciation and therefore admit of being treated as disyllables, e.g., _dear_, _fear_, _hear_, _near_, _tear_, _clear_, _year_. The disyllabic use of words of the latter class is very rare, though a striking example is afforded by the rhyme _see her: clear_ Mrs. Browning, iii, p. 57. Some other words, phonetically analogous to these, but popularly apprehended as containing a simple long vowel, as _fair_, _fare_, _are_, _here_, _there_, _rare_, _sphere_, _were_, _more_, _door_, _your_, are added to the list by Abbott, but with doubtful correctness (cf. _Metrik_, ii. 115-17).

NOTES:

[133] In the reading of the Bible and Liturgy the older syllabic
pronunciation of certain endings is still common, and it is
occasionally heard in sermons, where a more elevated and
poetical kind of diction is admissible than would be used in
secular oratory.

[134] See ten Brink, _Chaucer's Sprache und Verskunst_, § 260.

[135] Cf. Luick, _Anglia_, xi. 591-2.

[136] Cf. King James I, _The Kingis Quair_, ed. by W. W. Skeat,
1883-4.

[137] Cf. _Metrik_, ii. 101-3 _note_.

[138] Cf. Ellis, _E. E. Pr._, i. 367-8.

[139] A long list of the words so treated is to be found in Abbott,
_Shakespearian Grammar_, § 460.

[140] Cf. Abbott, § 477; Ellis, _E. E. Pr._, iii. 951-2; _Metrik_,
ii, 117-18.