Page:Alexander and Dindimus (Skeat 1878).djvu/39

 the sub-letters is often out of place, as in ll. 12, 47, 67, 106, &c.; but a certain amount of variation of this character is rather a beauty than a blemish, as it prevents the metre from becoming too painfully regular. Yet this licence is sometimes carried too far; in ll. 12, 47, 130, and some others, the accent has to be rather forced to bring out the rime. The worst is when the chief-letter fails, as in ll. 6, 1046; in the latter case, their is something wrong. Other unmusical lines are those where the chief-letter is ill placed, as in ll. 54, 163, 904, where the word bi is too weak to bear the whole weight of the verse. Similarly, l. 363 is bad. In l. 73, we may excuse the strong emphasis upon not, by supposing that Alexander meant to express his refusal unmistakeably. We may not ll. 31, 50, 394, 971, as examples in which the chief-letter comes nearer than usual to the end of the line.

As usual, prefixes are commonly neglected in the alliteration; thus, in ;. 19, the accent is on the syllable beginning with s in forsaide, the prefix for being neglected. Other examples are: ther rime with m in amongus, 28; h in bi-holden, 46; and with the italicized letters in the following, viz. aboute, 54; bi-reue, 82; agayn, 83; isaid, 100; a-pere, 104; enchesoun, 107; astored, 114; fordon, 118; askape, 159; aspien, 172; aloweþ, 212; vnharmed, 227; vnwasteþ, 236; enditinge, 243; alosed, 250; rihtewisenesse, 258 (an odd instance); alowe, 259; inpossible, 268; vnlich, 271; bileue, 272; &c., &c.

This neglect of the prefix is, of course, right; as it brings the accented syllable into play. But we sometimes find a very objectionable variation, viz. cases in which, contrary to the whole spirit of alliterative poetry, the rime-letter begins an unaccented syllable.. Examples of this occur, not only in the present poem, but (as I have before observed) in other alliterative poems also. As this point probably presents a difficulty to such as do not clearly apprehend the fact, I cite some instances.

And saide, seg to us silf · sofísen þis cauus; 61. That us derye no deþ · desíre we nouþe; 71. Bigat on olímpias · þe onurable quene; 194. That we discórden of dede · in many done þinguus; 222. Alle þe dedes þat ȝe don · discórden til oure; 273.