Spensers The Faerie Queene | Page 8

There are eight lines in the iambic
pentameter measure (five accents); e.g.--
v -/- | v -/- | v -/- | v -/- | v -/-
a gen | tle knight | was prick | ing on | the
plaine
followed by one iambic hexameter, or Alexandrine (six
accents); e.g.--
v -/- | v -/- | v -/- | v -/- | v -/- | v -/- as one | for knight | ly giusts | and
fierce | encount | ers fitt The rhymes are arranged in the following order:
ab ab bc bcc. It will be observed that the two quatrains are bound
together by the first two b rhymes, and the Alexandrine, which rhymes
with the eighth line, draws out the harmony with a peculiar lingering
effect. In scanning and reading it is necessary to observe the laws of
accentuation and pronunciation prevailing in Spenser's day; e.g. in
learned (I, i), undeserved (I, ii), and woundes (V, xvii) the final syllable
is sounded, patience (X, xxix) is trisyllabic, devotion (X, xl) is four
syllables, and entertainment (X, xxxvii) is accented on the second and
fourth syllables. Frequently there is in the line a cæsural pause, which
may occur anywhere; e.g.--
"And quite dismembred hath; | the thirsty land
Dronke up his life; |
his corse left on the strand." (III, xx.)
The rhythm of the meter is also varied by the alternating of end-stopped

and run-on lines, as in the last quotation. An end-stopped line has a
pause at the end, usually indicated by some mark of punctuation. A
run-on line should be read closely with the following line with only a
slight pause to indicate the line-unit. Monotony is prevented by the
occasional use of a light or feminine ending--a syllable on which the
voice does not or cannot rest; e.g.--
"Then choosing out few words most horrible." (I, xxxvii.) "That for his
love refused deity." (III, xxi.)
"His ship far come from watrie
wilderness." (III, xxxii.)
The use of alliteration, i.e. having several words in a line beginning
with the same letter, is another device frequently employed by Spenser
for musical effect; e.g.--
"In which that wicked wight his dayes doth weare." (I, xxxvi.) "Sweet
slombring deaw, the which to sleep them biddes." (I, xxxvi.)
5. VERSIFICATION.--In the handling of his stanza, Spenser revealed a
harmony, sweetness, and color never before dreamed of in the English.
Its compass, which admitted of an almost endless variety of cadence,
harmonized well with the necessity for continuous narration. It appeals
to the eye as well as to the ear, with its now languid, now vigorous, but
always graceful turn of phrase. Its movement has been compared to the
smooth, steady, irresistible sweep of water in a mighty river. Like Lyly,
Marlowe, and Shakespeare, Spenser felt the new delight in the pictorial
and musical qualities of words, and invented new melodies and word
pictures. He aimed rather at finish, exactness, and fastidious neatness
than at ease, freedom, and irregularity; and if his versification has any
fault, it is that of monotony. The atmosphere is always perfectly
adapted to the theme.
6. DICTION AND STYLE.--The peculiar diction of the Faerie Queene
should receive the careful attention of the student. As a romantic poet,
Spenser often preferred archaic and semi-obsolete language to more
modern forms. He uses four classes of words that were recognized as
the proper and conventional language of pastoral and romantic poetry;
viz. (a) archaisms, (b) dialect, (c) classicisms, and (d) gallicisms. He

did not hesitate to adopt from Chaucer many obsolete words and
grammatical forms. Examples are: the double negative with ne_;
_eyen_, _lenger, doen_, _ycladd_, _harrowd_, _purchas_, _raught_,
_seely_, _stowre, swinge_, _owch_, and _withouten. He also employs
many old words from Layamon, Wiclif, and Langland, like swelt_,
_younglings_, _noye_, _kest, hurtle_, and _loft. His dialectic forms are
taken from the vernacular of the North Lancashire folk with which he
was familiar. Some are still a part of the spoken language of that region,
such as, brent_, _cruddled, forswat_, _fearen_, _forray_, _pight_,
_sithen_, _carle_, and _carke.
Examples of his use of classical constructions are: the ablative absolute,
as, which doen (IV, xliii); the relative construction with when, as,
which when (I, xvii), that when (VII, xi); the comparative of the
adjective in the sense of "too," as, weaker (I, xlv), harder (II, xxxvi);
the participial construction after till_, as, _till further tryall made (I,
xii); the superlative of location, as, middest (IV, xv); and the old
gerundive, as, wandering wood (I, xiii). Most of the gallicisms found
are anglicized loan words from the French romans d'aventure, such as,
disseized_, _cheare_, _chappell_, _assoiled_, _guerdon_, _palfrey,
recreaunt_, _trenchand_, _syre_, and _trusse. Notwithstanding
Spenser's use of foreign words and constructions, his language is as
thoroughly English in its idiom as that of any of our great