sillables and kept his measure of fiue still, and would so haue runne more
pleasantly a great deale; for as he is now, though he be euen he seemes
odde and defectiue, for not well obseruing the natural accent of euery
word, and this would haue bene soone holpen by inserting one
_monosillable_ in the middle of the verse, and drawing another sillable in
the beginning into a _Dactil_, this word [_holy_] being a good
[_Pirrichius_] & very well seruing the turne, thus,
_Wha-t ho`li`e gra-ue a`la-s wha`t fit se`pu-lche`r._
Which verse if ye peruse throughout ye shall finde him after the first
_dactil_ all _Trochaick_ & not _Iambic_, nor of any other foot of two
times. But perchance if ye would seeme yet more curious, in place of these
four _Trocheus_ ye might induce other feete of three times, as to make the
three sillables next following the _dactil_, the foote [_amphimacer_] the
last word [_Sepulcher_] the foote [_amphibracus_] leauing the other midle
word for a [_Iambus_] thus.
_Wha-t ho`li`e gra-ue a`la-s wha`t fit se`pu-lche`r._
If ye aske me further why I make [_what_] first long & after short in one
verse, to that I satisfied you before, that it is by reason of his accent
sharpe in one place and flat in another, being a common _monosillable_,
that is, apt to receive either accent, & so in the first place receiuing
aptly the sharpe accent he is made long: afterward receiuing the flat
accent more aptly then the sharpe, because the sillable precedent [_las_]
vtterly distaines him, he is made short & not long, & that with very good
melodie, but to haue giuen him the sharpe accent & plucked it from the
sillable [_las_] it had bene to any mans eare a great discord: for
euermore this word [_alás_] is accented vpon the last, & that lowdly &
notoriously as appeareth by all our exclamations vsed vnder that terme.
The same Earle of Surrey & Sir _Thomas Wyat_ the first reformers &
polishers of our vulgar Poesie much affecting the stile and measures of
the Italian _Petrarcha_, vsed the foote _dactil_ very often but not many
in one verse, as in these,
_Fu-ll ma`ni`e that in presence of thy li-ueli`e he`d,
Shed Cæsars teares vpon Po-mpe`iu`s he`d.
Th'e-ne`mi`e to life destroi er of all kinde,
If a-mo` ro`us faith in an hart un fayned,
Myne old dee-re e`ne` my my froward master.
The- fu`ri` ous gone in his most ra ging ire._
And many moe which if ye would not allow for _dactils_ the verse would
halt vnlesse ye would seeme to helpe it contracting a sillable by vertue
of the figure _Syneresis_ which I thinke was neuer their meaning, nor in
deede would haue bred any pleasure to the eare, but hindred the flowing of
the verse. Howsoeuer ye take it the _dactil_ is commendable inough in our
vulgar meetres, but most plausible of all when he is sounded vpon the
stage, as in these comicall verses shewing how well it becommeth all noble
men and great personages to be temperat and modest, yea more then any
meaner man, thus.
_Le-t no` no`bi-li`ti`e ri-che`s o`r he-ri`ta`ge
Ho-no`r o`r e-mpi`re o`r ea-rthli`e do`mi-ni`o`n
Bre-ed I`n yo`ur hea-d a`ni`e pe-euish o`pi-ni`o`n
That ye` ma`y sa-fe`r a`uo-uch a`ni`e o-utra-ge._
And in this distique taxing the Prelate symoniake standing all upon
perfect _dactils_.
_No-w ma-ni-e bi-e mo-ne-y pu-rue`y pro`mo-ti`o`n
For mony mooues any hart to deuotion._
But this aduertisement I will giue you withall, that if ye vse too many
_dactils_ together ye make your musike too light and of no solemne
grauitie such as the amorous _Elegies_ in court naturally require, being
alwaies either very dolefull or passionate as the affections of loue
enforce, in which busines ye must make your choice of very few words
_dactilique_, or them that ye cannot refuse, to dissolue and breake them
into other feete by such meanes as it shall be taught hereafter: but
chiefly in your courtly ditties take heede ye vse not these maner of long
_polisillables_ and specially that ye finish not your verse them as
[_retribution_] _restitution_] _remuneration_] _recapitulation_] and such
like: for they smatch more the schoole of common players than of any
delicate Poet _Lyricke_ or _Elegiacke._
_CHAP. XV._
_Of all your other feete of three times and how well they would fashion a
meetre in our vulgar.__
All your other feete of three times I find no vse of them in our vulgar
meeters nor no sweetenes at all, and yet words inough to serue their
proportions. So as though they haue not hitherto bene made artificiall,
yet nowe by more curious obseruation they might be. Since all artes grew
first by obseruation of natures proceedings and custome. And first your
[Molossus] being of all three long is euidently discouered by this word
[_pe-rmi-tti-ng_] The [_Anapestus_] of two short and a long by this word
[_fu`ri`o-us_] if the next word beginne with a consonant. The foote
[_Bacchius_] of a short and two long by this word [_re`si-sta-nce_] the
foote [_Antibachius_] of two long and a short by this word [_e-xa-mple`_]
the foote [_Amphimacer_] of a long a short & a long by this word
[_co-nque`ri-ng_] the foote of [_Amphibrachus_] of a short a long and a
short by this word [_re`me-mbe`r_] if a vowell follow. The foote
[Tribrachus_] of three short times is very hard to be made by any of our
_trissillables_ vnles they be compounded of the smoothest sort of
consonants or sillables vocals, or of three smooth _monosillables_, or of
some peece of a long _polysillable_ & after that sort we may with wresting
of words shape the foot [_Tribrachus_] rather by vsurpation then by rule,
which neuertheles is allowed in euery primitiue arte & inuention: & so it
was by the Greekes and Latines in their first versifying, as if a rule
should be set downe that from henceforth these words should be counted al
_Tribrachus_ [_e`ne`mi`e_] _re`me`di`e_] _se`li`ne`s_] _mo`ni`le`s_]
_pe`ni`le`s_] _cru`e`lli`e_] & such like, or a peece of this long word
[_re`co-ue`ra`ble`_] _innu`me`ra`ble`_] _rea`di`li`e_] and others. Of all
which manner of apt wordes to make these stranger feet of three times
which go not so currant with our eare as the _dactil_, the maker should
haue a good iudgement to know them by their manner of orthographie and by
their accent which serue most fitly for euery foote, or else he shoulde
haue always a little calender of them apart to vse readily when he shall
neede them. But because in very truth I thinke them but vaine &
superstitious obseruations nothing at all furthering the pleasant melody
of our English meeter, I leaue to speake any more of them and rather wish
the continuance of our old maner of Poesie, scanning our verse by
sillables rather than by feete, and vsing most commonly the word
_Iambique_ & sometime the _Trochaike_ which ye shall discerne by their
accents, and now and then a _dactill_ keeping precisely our symphony or
rime without any other mincing measures, which an idle inuentiue head
could easily deuise, as the former examples teach.
_CHAP. XVI._
_Of your verses perfect and defectiue; and that which the Graecians called
the halfe foote._
The Greekes and Latines vsed verses in the odde sillable of two sortes,
which they called _Catalecticke_ and _Acatalecticke_, that is odde vnder
and odde ouer the iust measure of their verse, & we in our vulgar finde
many of the like, and specially in the rimes of Sir Thomas Wiat, strained
perchaunce out of their originall, made first by _Francis Petrarcha_: as
these
_Like vnto these, immeasurable mountaines,
So is my painefull life the burden of ire:
For hie be they, and hie is my desire
And I of teares, and they are full of fountaines._
Where in your first second and fourth verse, ye may find a sillable
superfluous, and though in the first ye will seeme to helpe it, by drawing
these three sillables,[_i-m me` su`_] into a _dactil_, in the rest it can
not be so excused, wherefore we must thinke he did it of purpose, by the
odde sillable to giue greater grace to his meetre, and we finde in our old
rimes, this odde sillable, sometime placed in the beginning and sometimes
in the middle of a verse, and is allowed to go alone & to hang to any
other sillable. But this odde sillable in our meetres is not the halfe
foote as the Greekes and Latines vsed him in their verses, and called such
measure _pentimimeris_ and _eptamimeris_, but rather is that, which they
called the _catalectik_ or maymed verse. Their _hemimeris_ or halfe foote
serued not by licence Poeticall or necessitie of words, but to bewtifie
and exornate the verse by placing one such halfe foote in the middle
_Cesure_, & one other in the end of the verse, as they vfed all their
_pentameters elegiack_: and not by coupling them together, but by accompt
to make their verse of a iust measure and not defectiue or superflous: our
odde sillable is not altogether of that nature, but is in a maner drownd
and supprest by the flat accent, and shrinks away as it were inaudible and
by that meane the odde verse comes almost to be an euen in euery mans
hearing. The halfe foote of the auncients was reserued purposely to an
vse, and therefore they gaue such odde sillable, wheresoeuer he fell the
sharper accent, and made by him a notorious pause as in this _pentameter_.
_Ni-l mi` hi` re-scri-ba`s a-tta`me`n i-pse` ve` ni`_.
Which in all make fiue whole feete, or the verse _Pentameter._ We
in our vulgar haue not the vse of the like halfe foote.
_CHAP. XVII._
_Of the breaking your bissillables and polysillables and when it is to be
used._
Bvt whether ye suffer your sillable to receiue his quantitie by his
accent, or by his ortography, or whether ye keepe your _bissillable_ whole
or whether ye breake him, all is one to his quantitie, and his time will
appeare the selfe same still and ought not to be altered by our makers,
vnlesse it be when such sillable is allowed to be common and to receiue
any of both times, as in the _dimeter_, made of two sillables entier.
_e-xtre-ame de`si-re_
The first is a good _spondeus_, the second a good _iambus_, and if the
same wordes be broken thus it is not so pleasant.
_I`n e-x tre-ame de` sire_
And yet the first makes a _iambus_, and the second a _trocheus_ ech
sillable retayning still his former quantities. And alwaies ye must haue
regard to the sweetenes of the meetre, so as if your word _polysillable_
would not sound pleasantly whole, ye should for the nonce breake him,
which ye may easily doo by inserting here and there one _monosillable_
among your _polysillables_, or by changing your word into another place
then where he soundes vnpleasantly, and by breaking, turne a _trocheus_ to
a _iambus_, or contrariwise: as thus:
_Ho-llo`w va-lle`is u-nde`r hi-e`st mou-ntai`nes
Cra-ggi`e cli-ffes bri`ng foo-rth the` fai-re`st fou-ntai`nes_
These verses be _trochaik_, and in mine eare not so sweete and harmonicall
as the _iambicque_, thus:
_The` ho-llo`wst va-ls li`e u-nde`r hi-e`st mo-unta-ines
The` cra-ggi`st clifs bri-ng fo-rth the` fai-re`st fou-nta-ines_.
All which verses bee now become _iambicque_ by breaking the first
_bissillables_, and yet alters not their quantities though the feete be
altered: and thus,
_Restlesse is the heart in his desires
Rauing after that reason doth denie_.
Which being turned thus makes a new harmonie.
_The restlesse heart, renues his old desires
Ay rauing after that reason doth it deny_.
And following this obseruation your meetres being builded with
_polysillables_ will fall diuersly out, that is some to be
_spondaick_, some _iambick_, others _dactilick_, others _trochaick_, and
of one mingled with another, as in this verse.
_He-aui`e I-s the` bu-rde`n of Pri`nce`s i-re_
The verse is _trochaick_, but being altered thus, is _iambicque_.
_Fu`ll he-aui`e i-s the` pa-ise o`f Pri-nce`s i-re_
And as _Sir Thomas Wiat_ song in a verse wholly _trochaick_, because the
wordes do best shape to that foote by their naturall accent, thus,
_Fa-rewe`ll lo-ue a`nd a-ll thi`e la-wes fo`r e-ve`r_
And in this ditty of th'Erle of Surries, passing sweete and harmonicall:
all be _Iambick_.
_When raging loue with extreme paine
So cruell doth straine my hart,
And that the teares like fluds of raine
Beare witnesse of my wofull smart._
Which beyng disposed otherwise or not broken, would proue all _trochaick_,
but nothing pleasant.
Now furthermore ye are to note, that al _monosyllables_ may receiue the
sharp accent, but not so aptly one as another, as in this verse where they
serue well to make him _iambicque_, but not _trochaick_.
_Go`d grau-nt thi`s pea-ce ma`y lo-ng e`ndu-re_
Where the sharpe accent falles more tunably vpon [graunt] [peace] [long]
[dure] then it would by conuersion, as to accent then thus:
_Go-d grau`nt - thi-s pea`ce - ma-y lo`ng - e-ndu-re._
And yet if ye will aske me the reason I can not tell it, but that it
shapes so to myne eare, and as I thinke to euery other mans. And in this
meeter where ye haue whole words _bissillable_ vnbroken, that maintaine
(by reason of their accent) sundry feete, yet going one with another be
very harmonicall.
Where ye see one to be a _trocheus_ another the _iambus_, and so
entermingled not by election but by constraint of their seuerall accents,
which ought not to be altred, yet comes it to passe that many times ye
must of necessitie alter the accent of a sillable, and put him from his
naturall place, and then one sillable, of a word _polysillable_, or one
word _monosillable_, will abide to be made sometimes long, sometimes
short, as in this _quadreyne_ of ours playd in a mery moode.
_Gèue mé mìne ówne ànd whén I dó dèsíre
Geue others theirs, and nothing that is mine_
_Nòr gíue mè thát, wherto all men aspire
Then neither gold, nor faire women nor wine._
Where in your first verse these two words [_giue_] and [_me_] are accented
one high th'other low, in the third verse the same words are accented
contrary, and the reason of this exchange is manifest, because the maker
playes with these two clauses of sundry relations [_giue me_] and [_giue
others_] so as the _monosillable_ [_me_] being respectiue to the word
[_others_] and inferring a subtilitie or wittie implication, ought not to
haue the same accent, as when he hath no such respect, as in this _distik_
of ours.
_Pro-ue me` (Madame) ere ye re-pro`ue
Meeke minds should e-xcu`se not a-ccu`se_.
In which verse ye see this word [_reprooue_,] the sillable [_prooue_]
alters his sharpe accent into a flat, for naturally it is long in all his
singles and compoundes [_reproòue_] [_approòue_] [_disproòue_] & so is the
sillable [_cuse_] in [_excuse_] [_accuse_] [_recuse_] yet in these verses
by reason one of them doth as it were nicke another, and haue a certaine
extraordinary sence with all, it behoueth to remoue the sharpe accents
from whence they are most naturall, to place them where the nicke may be
more expresly discouered, and therefore in this verse where no such
implication is, nor no relation it is otherwise, as thus.
_If ye re`pro-ue my constancie
I will excu-se you curtesly_.
For in this word [_reproóue_] because there is no extraordinary sence to
be inferred, he keepeth his sharpe accent vpon the sillable [_proóue_] but
in the former verses because they seeme to encounter ech other, they do
thereby merite an audible and pleasant alteration of their accents in
those sillables that cause the subtiltie. Of these maner of nicetees ye
shal finde in many places of our booke, but specially where we treate of
ornament, vnto which we referre you, sauing that we thought good to set
down one example more to solace your mindes with mirth after all these
scholasticall preceptes, which can not but bring with them (specially to
Courtiers) much tediousnesse, and so to end. In our Comedie intituled
_Ginecocratia:_ the king was supposed to be a person very amorous and
effeminate, and therefore most ruled his ordinary affaires by the aduise
of women either for the loue he bare to their persons of liking he had to
their pleasant ready witts and vtterance. Comes me to the Court one
_Polemon_ an honest plaine man of the country, but rich: and hauing a
suite to the king, met by chaunce with one _Philino_, a louer of wine and
a merry companion in Court, and praied him in that he was a stranger that
he would vouchsafe to tell him which way he were best to worke to get his
suite, and who were most in credit and fauour about the king, that he
might seek to them to furder his attempt. _Philino_ perceyuing the
plainnesse of the man, and that there would be some good done with him,
told _Polemon_ that if he would well consider him for his labor he would
bring him where he should know the truth of all his demaundes by the
sentence of the Oracle. _Polemon_ gaue him twentie crownes, _Philino_
brings him into a place where behind an arras cloth hee himselfe spake in
manner of an Oracle in these matters, for so did all the Sybils and
sothsaiers in old times giue their answers.
_Your best way to worke - and marke my words well,
Not money: nor many,
Nor any: but any,
Not weemen, but weemen beare the bell._
_Polemon_ wist not what to make of this doubtfull speach, & not being
lawfull to importune the oracle more then once in one matter, conceyued in
his head the pleasanter construction, and stacke to it: and hauing at home
a fayre yong damsell of eighteene yeares old to his daughter, that could
very well behaue her self in countenance and also in her language,
apparelled her as gay as he could, and brought her to the Court, where
_Philino_ harkning daily after the euent of this matter, met him, and
recommended his daughter to the Lords, who perceiuing her great beauty and
other good parts, brought her to the King, to whom she exhibited her
fathers supplication, and found so great fauour in his eye, as without any
long delay she obtained her sute at his hands. _Poleman_ the diligent
solliciting of his daughter, wanne his purpose: _Philino_ gat a good
reward and vsed the matter so, as howsoeuer the oracle had bene construed,
he could not haue receiued blame nor discredit by the successe, for euery
waies it would haue proued true, whether _Polemons_ daughter had obtayned
the sute, or not obtained it. And the subtiltie lay in the accent and
Ortographie of these two wordes [any] and [weemen] for [any] being deuided
sounds _a nie_ or neere person to the king: and [weemen] being diuided
soundes _wee men_, and not [weemen] and so by this meane _Philino_ serued
all turnes and shifted himselfe from blame, not vnlike the tale of the
Rattlemouse who in the warres proclaimed betweene the foure footed beasts
and the birdes, beyng sent for by the Lyon to beat his musters, excused
himselfe for that he was a foule and flew with winges: and beying sent for
my the Eagle to serue him, sayd that he was a foure footed beast, and by
that craftie cauill escaped the danger of the warres, and shunned the
seruice of both Princes. And euer since sate at home by the fire side,
eating vp the poore husbandmans baken, halfe lost for lacke of a good
huswifes looking too.
_FINIS_.
THE THIRD BOOKE,
OF ORNAMENT.
_CHAP. I_.
_Of Ornament Poeticall_.
As no doubt the good proportion of any thing doth greatly adorne and
commend it and right so our late remembred proportions doe to our vulgar
Poesie: so is there yet requisite to the perfection of this arte, another
maner of exornation, which resteth in the fashioning of our makers
language and stile, to such purpose as it may delight and allure as well
the mynde as the eare of the hearers with a certaine noueltie and strange
maner of conueyance, disguising it no litle from the ordinary and
accustomed: neuertheless making it nothing the more vnseemely or
misbecomming, but rather decenter and more agreable to any ciuill eare and
understanding. And as we see in these great Madames of honour, be they for
personage or otherwise neuer so comely and bewtifull, yet if they want
their courtly habillements or at leastwise such other apparell as custome
and ciuilitie haue ordained to couer their naked bodies, would be halfe
ashamed or greatly out of countenaunce to be seen in that sort, and
perchance do then thinke themselves more amiable in euery mans eye, when
they be in their richest attire, suppose of silkes or tyssews & costly
embroderies, then when they go in cloth or in any other plaine and simple
apparell. Euen so cannot our vulgar Poesie shew it self either gallant or
gorgious, if any lymme be left naked and bare and not clad in his kindly
clothes and coulours, such as may conuey them somewhat our of sight, that
is from the common course of ordinary speach and capacitie of the vulgar
iudgement, and yet being artificially handled must needes yeld it much
more bewtie and commendation. This ornament we speake of is giuen to it by
figures and figurative speaches, which be the flowers as it were and
coulours that a Poet setteth vpon his language by arte, as the embroderer
doth his stone and perle, or passements of golde vpon the stuffe of a
Princely garment, or as th'excellent painter bestoweth the rich Orient
coulours vpon his table of pourtraite: so neuerthelessse as if the same
coulours in our art of Poesie (as well as in those other mechanicall
artes) be not well tempered, or not well layd, or be vused in excesse, or
neuer so litle disordered or misplaced, they not onely giue it no maner of
grace at all, but rather do disfigure that stuffe and spill the whole
workmanship taking away all bewtie and good liking from it, no lesse then
if the crimson tainte, which should be laid vpon a Ladies lips, or right
in the center of her cheekes should by some ouersight or mishap be applied
to her forhead or chinne, it would make (ye would say) but a very
ridiculous bewtie, wherfore the chief prayse and cunning of our Poet is in
the discreet vsing of his figures, as the skilfull painters is in the good
conueyance of his coulours and shadowing traits of his pensill, with a
delectable varietie, by all measure and iust proportion, and in places
most aptly to be bestowed.
_CHAP. II_.
_How our writing and speaches publike ought to be figuratiue, and if they
be not doe greatly disgrace the cause and purpose of the speaker and
writer._