inexplicable: I am of opinion that they will find what they feek in the Metre of Pierce Plowman (q). About the beginning of the fixteenth century this kind of verfification began to change its form: the author of ScoTTISH FIELD, we fee, concludes his poem with a couplet in rhyme: this was an innovation that did but prepare the way for the general admiffion of that more modifh ornament; till at length the old uncouth verfe of the ancient writers would no longer go down without it. Yet when Rhyme began to be fuperadded, all the niceties of Alliteration were at first retained along with it; and the fong of LITTLE JOHN NOBODY exhibits this union very clearly. By degrees the correfpondence of final founds engroffing the whole attention of the poet, and fully latisfying the reader, the internal imbellishment of Alli. teration was no longer ftudied, and thus was this kind of metre at length iwallowed up and loft in our common Burlefque Alexandrine, or Anapeftic verfe (r), -now (2) And in that of Robert of Gloucefter. See the next note. (r) Confifting of four Anapets (-) in which the Accent refts upon every third fyllable. This kind of Verfe, which I alfo call the Burlefque Alexandrine (to diftinguish it from the other Alexandrines of 11 and 14 fyllables, the parents of our lyric measure: fee examples, pp. 139, 140, &c.) was early applied by Robert of Gloucefter to ferious fubjects. That writer's metre, like this of Langland's, is formed on the Saxon models (each verfe of his containing a Saxon diftich), only inftead of the internal Alliterations adopted by Langland, he rather chose final Rhymes, as the French poets have done fince. Take a fpecimen: "The Saxons tho in ther power, tho thii were fo rive, Robert of Gloucester wrote in the western dialect, and his language differs exceedingly from that of other contemporary Writers, who now never used but in ballads and pieces of light humour, as in the following Song of CONSCIENCE, and in that well-known doggrel, "A cobler there was, and he lived in a stall." But although this kind of measure hath with us been thus degraded, it ftill retains among the French its ancient dignity; their grand Heroic Verfe of twelve fyllables (5) is the fame genuine offspring of the old alliterative metre of the ancient Gothic and Francic poets, ript like our Anapeftic of its alliteration, and ornamented with rhyme: But with this difference, that whereas this kind of verfe hath been applied by us only to light and trivial fubjects, to which by its quick and lively measure it feemed beft adapted, our Poets have let it remain in a more lax unconfined state (†), who refided in the metropolis, or in the midland counties. Had the Heptarchy continued, our English language would probably have been as much distinguished for its different dialects as the Greek; or at least as that of the feveral independant states of Italy. (s) Or of thirteen fyllables, in what they call a feminine verse. It is remarkable that the French alone have retained this old Gothic metre for their ferious poems; while the English, Spaniards, &c. have adopted the Italic verfe of ten fyllables, although the Spaniards, as well as we, anciently used a short-lined metre. 1 believe the fuccefs with which Petrarch, and perhaps one or two others, first used the heroic verfe of ten fyllables in Italian Poefy, recommended it to the Spanish writers; as it alfo did to our Chaucer, who first attempted it in English; and to his fucceffors Lord Surrey, Sir Thomas Wyat, &c.; who afterwards improved it and brought it to perfection. To Lord Surrey we alfo owe the first introduction of Blank Verse in his Verfions of the fecond and fourth Books of the Æneid, 1557, 4to. (t) Thus our poets use this verfe indifferently with 12, 11, and even 10 fyllables. For though regularly it confifts of 4 Anapests (-) or twelve fyllables, yet they frequently retrench a fyllable from the first or third Anapeft; and fometimes from both; as in thefe instances from PRIOR, and from the following Song of CONSCIENCE: Who has eer been at Paris, must needs know the Grève, Hě ftept to him straight, and did him require. 6 as A as a greater degree of feverity and strictness would have been inconfiftent with the light and airy fubjects to which they have applied it. On the other hand, the French having retained this Verfe as the vehicle of their Epic and Tragic flights, in order to give it a stateliness and dignity were obliged to confine it to more exact laws of Scanfion; they have therefore limited it to the number of twelve Syllables; and by making the Cæfura or Paufe as full and diftin&t as poffible; and by other fevere reftrictions, have given it all the folemnity of which it was capable. The harmony of both however depends fo much on the fame flow of cadence and difpofal of the pause, that they appear plainly to be of the fame original; and every French heroic verfe evidently confilts of the ancient Distich of their Francic ancestors: which, by the way, will account to us why this verfe of the French fo naturally refolves itself into two complete hemistics. And indeed by making the cæfura or paufe always to reft on the laft fyliable of a word, and by making a kind of pause in the fenfe, the French poets do in effect reduce their hemiftics to two diftinct and independant verfes: and fome of their old poets have gone fo far as to make the two hemiftics rhyme to each other (u). After all, the old alliterative and anapestic metre of the English poets being chiefly ufed in a barbarous age, and in a rude unpolished language, abounds with verfes defective in length, proportion, and harmony; and therefore cannot enter into a comparifon with the correct verlification of the best modern French writers; but making allowances for these defects, that fort of metre runs with a cadence fo exactly refembling the French heroic Alexandrine, that I believe no peculia rities of their verfification can be produced, which (u) See Inftances in L'Hift. de la Pocfie Françoise par MASSIEU, &C. Ja the fame book are also specimens of alliterative French Verses. cannot cannot be exactly matched in the alliterative metre. I fhall give by way of example a few lines from the modern French poets accommodated with parallels from the ancient pcem of LIFE AND DEATH; in these I shall denote the Cæfura or Paufe by a perpendicular line, and the Cadence by the marks of the Latin quantity. Thus I fared throughie ǎ frythe | where the flowers were manye. To conclude: the metre of Pierce Plowman's Visions has no kind of affinity with what is commonly called Blank Verfe; yet has it a fort of harmony of its own, proceeding not fo much from its alliteration, as from the artful difpofal of its cadence, and the contrivance of its paufe; fo that when the ear is a little accustomed to it, it is by no means unpleafing; but claims all the merit of the French heroic numbers, only far lefs polifhed; being fweetened, instead of their final rhymes, with the internal recurrence of fimilar founds. (x) Catalina, A. 3. (y) Boileau Sat. (x) Boil. Sat. II. SINCE ADDITIONS TO THE ESSAY ON THE ALLITERATIVE METRE. INCE the foregoing Effay was first printed, the Editor hath met with fome additional examples of the old Alliterative Metre. The first is in MS. (a) which begins thus: Grift Crowned Kyng, that on Cros dideft (b), And art Comfort of all Care, thow (c) kind go out of Cours, With thi Halwes in Heven Heried mote thu be, In Dremyng, in Drecchyng (d), and in Derke fwevenes. The Author from this proemium takes occafion to give an account of a Dream that happened to himself: which he introduces with the following circumstances: Ones y me Ordayned, as y have Ofte doon, With Frendes, and Felawes, Frendemen, and other; Than Lift y up my Lyddes, and Loked in the sky, Blyve y Busked me down, and to Bed went, For to Comforte my Kynde, and Cacche a slepe. (a) In a fmall 4to MS. containing 38 leaves in private hands. (b) Didft dye. (c) though. (e) i.e. either, or. 5 (d) being overpowered. He |