Page:The grammar of English grammars.djvu/1075



4. "Follows the loosen'd aggravated roar." --Thomson.

5. "That purple grows the primrose pale." --Langhorne.

VII. They more frequently place ADJECTIVES after their nouns, than do prose writers; as,

1. "Or where the gorgeous East, with richest hand,   Show'rs on her kings barbaric, pearl and gold." --Milton, P. L., B. ii, l. 2.

2. "Come, nymph demure, with mantle blue." --W. Allen's Gram., p. 189.

3. "This truth sublime his simple sire had taught." --Beattie's Minstrel, p. 14.

VIII. They ascribe qualities to things to which they do not literally belong; as,

1. "The ploughman homeward plods his weary way." --Gray's Elegy, l. 3.

2. "Or drowsy tinklings lull the distant folds." --Ibidem, l. 8.

3. "Imbitter'd more and more from peevish day to day." --Thomson.

4. "All thin and naked, to the numb cold night." --Shakspeare.

IX. They use concrete terms to express abstract qualities; (i. e., adjectives for nouns;) as,

1. "Earth's meanest son, all trembling, prostrate falls,   And on the boundless of thy goodness calls." --Young.

2. "Meanwhile, whate'er of beautiful or new,   Sublime or dreadful, in earth, sea, or sky,    By chance or search, was offer'd to his view,    He scann'd with curious and romantic eye." --Beattie.

3. "Won from the void and formless infinite." --Milton.

4. "To thy large heart give utterance due; thy heart   Contains of good, wise, just, the perfect shape." --Id., P. R., B. iii, l. 10.

X. They often substitute quality for manner; (i. e., adjectives for adverbs;) as,

1. "The stately-sailing swan  Gives out his snowy plumage to the gale,   And, arching proud his neck, with oary feet,   Bears forward fierce, and guards his osier isle." --Thomson.

2. "Thither continual pilgrims crowded still." --''Id., Cos. of Ind.'', i, 8.

3. "Level at beauty, and at wit;   The fairest mark is easiest hit." --Butler's Hudibras.

XI. They form new compound epithets, oftener than do prose writers; as,

1. "In world-rejoicing state, it moves sublime." --Thomson.

2. "The dewy-skirted clouds imbibe the sun." --Idem.

3. "By brooks and groves in hollow-whispering gales." --Idem.

4. "The violet of sky-woven vest." --Langhorne.

5. "A league from Epidamnum had we sail'd,   Before the always-wind-obeying deep    Gave any tragic instance of our harm." --Shakspeare.

6. "'Blue-eyed, strange-voiced, sharp-beaked, ill-omened fowl,   What art thou?' 'What I ought to be, an owl.'" --Day's Punctuation, p. 139.

XII. They connect the comparative degree to the positive, before a verb; as,

1. "Near and more near the billows rise." --Merrick.

2. "Wide and wider spreads the vale." --Dyer's Grongar Hill.

3. "Wide and more wide, the overflowings of the mind   Take every creature in, of every kind." --Pope.

4. "Thick and more thick the black blockade extends,   A hundred head of Aristotle's friends." --Id., Dunciad.

XIII. They form many adjectives in y, which are not common in prose; as, The dimply flood,--dusky veil,--a gleamy ray,--heapy harvests,--moony shield,--paly circlet,--sheety lake,--stilly lake,--spiry temples,--steely casque,--steepy hill,--towery height,--vasty deep,--writhy snake.

XIV. They employ adjectives of an abbreviated form: as, dread, for dreadful; drear, for dreary; ebon, for ebony; hoar, for hoary; lone, for lonely; scant, for scanty; slope, for sloping: submiss, for submissive; vermil, for vermilion; yon, for yonder.

XV. They employ several adjectives that are not used in prose, or are used but seldom; as, azure, blithe, boon, dank, darkling, darksome, doughty, dun, fell, rife, rapt, rueful, sear, sylvan, twain, wan.

XVI. They employ the personal PRONOUNS, and introduce their nouns afterwards; as,

1. "It curl'd not Tweed alone, that breeze." --Sir W. Scott.

2. "What may it be, the heavy sound   That moans old Branksome's turrets round?" --Idem, Lay, p. 21.

3. "Is it the lightning's quivering glance,     That on the thicket streams;    Or do they flash on spear and lance,      The sun's retiring beams" --Idem, L. of L., vi,15.