Milton's Prosody, with a chapter on Accentual Verse and Notes is a book by Robert Bridges. It was first published by Oxford University Press in 1889, and a final revised edition was published in 1921.
Bridges begins with a detailed empirical analysis of the blank verse of Paradise Lost, and then examines the changes in Milton's practice in his later poems Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes. A third section deals with 'obsolete mannerisms'. The final section of the book presents a new system of prosody for accentual verse.
Bridges had been asked by Henry Beeching, his local vicar, to write a preface for an edition of Paradise Lost that Beeching was preparing for sixth-form pupils. Beeching wanted something to counter the prevailing da-DUM-da-DUM style of reading, that artificially distorted words to fit the regular pattern of the iambic pentameter rhythm. When Gerard Manley Hopkins visited Bridges in mid August 1886, they discussed Bridges' work on the preface.[1] The contents of the book evolved over decades through several published versions:[2]
Bridges, Robert (1887). "On the Elements of Milton's Blank Verse in Paradise Lost". In Beeching, H. C. (ed.). Paradise Lost, Book I. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Bridges, Robert (1889). On the Prosody of Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes: Being a Supplement to the paper "On the Elements of Milton's Blank Verse in Paradise Lost," which is reprinted in the Rev. H. C. Beeching's edition of Paradise Lost, Book I, Clarendon Press, Oxford. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. (published anonymously)
Bridges, Robert (1893). Milton's Prosody: An Examination of the rules of the Blank Verse in Milton's Later Poems, with an Account of the Versification of Samson Agonistes and General Notes. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
(A combined revision of the 1887 & 1889 works.)
Bridges, Robert (1901). Milton's Prosody, & Classical Meters in English Verse, by William Johnson Stone. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
(Classical Meters in English Verse is not directly related to Milton's Prosody, but was appended to the book because of Bridges's interest in the topic and "as a memorial to Stone's untimely death".[3])
Bridges, Robert (1904). "Miltonic Elision". The Athenaeum (January 1904): 83–84, 113–14, 147–48.
(3 brief papers which grew out of the study.)
Bridges, Robert (1921). Milton's Prosody: With a Chapter on Accentual Verse and Notes (Revised final ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press.
(The definitive edition, revised, with Classical Meters... removed, and a new chapter on Accentual Verse.)
The Prosody of Paradise LostEdit
Bridges shows that:
there are no lines with fewer than ten syllables in Paradise Lost
with a suitable definition of elision, there are no mid-line extra-metrical syllables
the stresses may fall at any point in the line,
although most lines have the standard five stresses, there are examples of lines with only three and four stresses.
Thus according to Bridges' analysis Milton was writing a form of syllabic verse. At the time this was a controversial thesis. George Saintsbury disagreed with Bridges, and stated that Milton had simply been using standard extra-metrical liberties, but Bridges was able to answer this objection by showing that every single instance in the poem of such a variation from the norm could be explained by his natural definition of elision; this would be extremely unlikely to be the case if the poet had simply been allowing himself extra-metrical variations as described by Saintsbury. Bridges took the very restricted range of Milton's variations to be a proof of his thesis.
The Prosody of Paradise Regained and Samson AgonistesEdit
Bridges showed that Milton further broadened his concept of elision in his later works. Bridges' investigation of Milton's twelve syllable lines led him to ideas of prosody embodied in his own Neo-Miltonic syllabics.
On Obsolete MannerismsEdit
Recession of AccentEdit
Bridges discusses the obsolete practice of recession of accent. The rule being that "disyllabic adjectives and participles accented on the last syllable will shift their accent back if they occur before a noun accented on the first syllable."[4]
Bridges bases much of his account of Recession of Accent on the work of Alexander Schmidt's analysis of Shakespeare's practice. Schmidt takes, for example, an adjective such as 'complete' and shows that it is used with the normal accent on the second syllable in lines such as:
He is complete in feature and in mind (Gent. ii 4.73)
And then proceeds to find numerous examples where the stress is changed according to the rule, thus:
A maid of grace and complete majesty. (L.L.L. i. 1.137)
and
Than all the complete armour that thou wear'st. (Rich 3rd iv. 4.189)
Bridges lists a number of clear example of recession of accent in Milton's earlier work, such as:
The sublime notion, and high mystery
but then goes on to note the very frequent occurrence of the rhythm ⌣ ⌣ – – (that is, xx// ) in Milton's verse, a rhythm that Milton would have taken from Shakespeare, as at the end of the following line from A Midsummer Night's Dream:
The ploughman lost his sweat, and the green corn
Milton's frequent use of this rhythm undermines any case for supposing recession of accent played a role in Milton's later metrical practice. Bridges argues that Milton excluded the 'licence' of recession of accent because it would have given rise to uncertainty about where a stress should lie. He observes that the words complete, extreme, serene, and sublime occur twenty-four times in Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained, and Samson Agonistes, and in each case the accent is on the second syllable, whereas each of these words appears only once in Comus and there 'suffers' recession of accent.[5]
Bridges classifies the following types of syllable (alternative symbols have been added for browsers that do not display symbols correctly):
Symbol
Alternative
Syllable Type
Description
⋀
^
Stressed
Syllable carries the stress
–
–
Heavy
Is genuinely long, slows down the reading. For example: broad, bright, down.
⌣
~
Light
All syllables with short vowels, even those that would be long 'by position' in Classical terms. That is, if the consonants around a short vowel do not genuinely retard the syllable then it will be counted 'light'. Light also includes all classically short syllables. For example the second syllables of 'brighter' and 'brightest' are both light, despite the consonants in the latter.
Bridges also has a shorter version of the 'Light' symbol for 'very short' syllables. We can use ⌵ ('.').
RulesEdit
Bridges lists six "rules" for accentual verse. He states (p. 89) "These 'laws' are merely the tabulation of what my ear finds in English stressed or accentual verse". The rules are as follows:
the stress governs the rhythm
the stresses must all be true speech-stresses
a stress has more carrying power over the syllable next to it, than it has over a syllable removed from it by an intervening syllable
stress has a peculiarly strong attraction towards verbal unity and for its own proclitics and enclitics
a stress will not carry a heavy syllable which is removed from it by another syllable. Here Bridges cites several lines from Shelley which violate this rule, such as: "Each and all like ministering angels were."
a stress will not carry more than one heavy or two light syllables on the same side of it
Brogan, T.V.F. (1999) [1981], English Versification, 1570–1980: A Reference Guide With a Global Appendix (Hypertext ed.), Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, ISBN0-8018-2541-5 (reference is to the 1999 Hypertext edition, available online; publisher and ISBN is for the original printed edition)
Phillips, Catherine: Robert Bridges: A Biography, Oxford University Press, 1992. ISBN0-19-212251-7
External linksEdit
Full text on Google Books.
October 22, 2023
milton, prosody, with, chapter, accentual, verse, notes, book, robert, bridges, first, published, oxford, university, press, 1889, final, revised, edition, published, 1921, bridges, begins, with, detailed, empirical, analysis, blank, verse, paradise, lost, the. Milton s Prosody with a chapter on Accentual Verse and Notes is a book by Robert Bridges It was first published by Oxford University Press in 1889 and a final revised edition was published in 1921 Bridges begins with a detailed empirical analysis of the blank verse of Paradise Lost and then examines the changes in Milton s practice in his later poems Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes A third section deals with obsolete mannerisms The final section of the book presents a new system of prosody for accentual verse Contents 1 Writing of the book 2 The Prosody of Paradise Lost 3 The Prosody of Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes 4 On Obsolete Mannerisms 4 1 Recession of Accent 5 The Prosody of Accentual Verse 5 1 Terms and notation 5 2 Rules 5 3 List of common stress units 6 Notes 7 References 8 External linksWriting of the book EditBridges had been asked by Henry Beeching his local vicar to write a preface for an edition of Paradise Lost that Beeching was preparing for sixth form pupils Beeching wanted something to counter the prevailing da DUM da DUM style of reading that artificially distorted words to fit the regular pattern of the iambic pentameter rhythm When Gerard Manley Hopkins visited Bridges in mid August 1886 they discussed Bridges work on the preface 1 The contents of the book evolved over decades through several published versions 2 Bridges Robert 1887 On the Elements of Milton s Blank Verse in Paradise Lost In Beeching H C ed Paradise Lost Book I Oxford Clarendon Press Bridges Robert 1889 On the Prosody of Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes Being a Supplement to the paper On the Elements of Milton s Blank Verse in Paradise Lost which is reprinted in the Rev H C Beeching s edition of Paradise Lost Book I Clarendon Press Oxford Oxford Basil Blackwell published anonymously Bridges Robert 1893 Milton s Prosody An Examination of the rules of the Blank Verse in Milton s Later Poems with an Account of the Versification of Samson Agonistes and General Notes Oxford Clarendon Press A combined revision of the 1887 amp 1889 works dd Bridges Robert 1901 Milton s Prosody amp Classical Meters in English Verse by William Johnson Stone Oxford Oxford University Press Classical Meters in English Verse is not directly related to Milton s Prosody but was appended to the book because of Bridges s interest in the topic and as a memorial to Stone s untimely death 3 dd Bridges Robert 1904 Miltonic Elision The Athenaeum January 1904 83 84 113 14 147 48 3 brief papers which grew out of the study dd Bridges Robert 1921 Milton s Prosody With a Chapter on Accentual Verse and Notes Revised final ed Oxford Clarendon Press The definitive edition revised with Classical Meters removed and a new chapter on Accentual Verse dd The Prosody of Paradise Lost EditBridges shows that there are no lines with fewer than ten syllables in Paradise Lost with a suitable definition of elision there are no mid line extra metrical syllables the stresses may fall at any point in the line although most lines have the standard five stresses there are examples of lines with only three and four stresses Thus according to Bridges analysis Milton was writing a form of syllabic verse At the time this was a controversial thesis George Saintsbury disagreed with Bridges and stated that Milton had simply been using standard extra metrical liberties but Bridges was able to answer this objection by showing that every single instance in the poem of such a variation from the norm could be explained by his natural definition of elision this would be extremely unlikely to be the case if the poet had simply been allowing himself extra metrical variations as described by Saintsbury Bridges took the very restricted range of Milton s variations to be a proof of his thesis The Prosody of Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes EditBridges showed that Milton further broadened his concept of elision in his later works Bridges investigation of Milton s twelve syllable lines led him to ideas of prosody embodied in his own Neo Miltonic syllabics On Obsolete Mannerisms EditRecession of Accent Edit Bridges discusses the obsolete practice of recession of accent The rule being that disyllabic adjectives and participles accented on the last syllable will shift their accent back if they occur before a noun accented on the first syllable 4 Bridges bases much of his account of Recession of Accent on the work of Alexander Schmidt s analysis of Shakespeare s practice Schmidt takes for example an adjective such as complete and shows that it is used with the normal accent on the second syllable in lines such as He is complete in feature and in mind Gent ii 4 73 And then proceeds to find numerous examples where the stress is changed according to the rule thus A maid of grace and complete majesty L L L i 1 137 and Than all the complete armour that thou wear st Rich 3rd iv 4 189 Bridges lists a number of clear example of recession of accent in Milton s earlier work such as The sublime notion and high mysterybut then goes on to note the very frequent occurrence of the rhythm that is xx in Milton s verse a rhythm that Milton would have taken from Shakespeare as at the end of the following line from A Midsummer Night s Dream The ploughman lost his sweat and the green cornMilton s frequent use of this rhythm undermines any case for supposing recession of accent played a role in Milton s later metrical practice Bridges argues that Milton excluded the licence of recession of accent because it would have given rise to uncertainty about where a stress should lie He observes that the words complete extreme serene and sublime occur twenty four times in Paradise Lost Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes and in each case the accent is on the second syllable whereas each of these words appears only once in Comus and there suffers recession of accent 5 The Prosody of Accentual Verse EditIn this final section Bridges describes a prosody of accentual verse Terms and notation Edit Bridges classifies the following types of syllable alternative symbols have been added for browsers that do not display symbols correctly Symbol Alternative Syllable Type Description Stressed Syllable carries the stress Heavy Is genuinely long slows down the reading For example broad bright down Light All syllables with short vowels even those that would be long by position in Classical terms That is if the consonants around a short vowel do not genuinely retard the syllable then it will be counted light Light also includes all classically short syllables For example the second syllables of brighter and brightest are both light despite the consonants in the latter Bridges also has a shorter version of the Light symbol for very short syllables We can use Rules Edit Bridges lists six rules for accentual verse He states p 89 These laws are merely the tabulation of what my ear finds in English stressed or accentual verse The rules are as follows the stress governs the rhythm the stresses must all be true speech stresses a stress has more carrying power over the syllable next to it than it has over a syllable removed from it by an intervening syllable stress has a peculiarly strong attraction towards verbal unity and for its own proclitics and enclitics a stress will not carry a heavy syllable which is removed from it by another syllable Here Bridges cites several lines from Shelley which violate this rule such as Each and all like ministering angels were a stress will not carry more than one heavy or two light syllables on the same side of itList of common stress units Edit Bridges lists the common stress units or feet 1st Bare Stress 2nd The 2 falling disyllabic feet 3rd The 2 rising disyllabic feet 4th The britannics or mid stress trisyllabics 5th The falling and rising trisyllabics 6th The quadrisyllabics 7th The five syllable foot Notes Edit Phillips 1992 p 137 Publishing chronology based on Brogan 1999 E491 96 Brogan 1999 E494 Bridges 1921 p 67 Bridges 1921 p 72 References EditBrogan T V F 1999 1981 English Versification 1570 1980 A Reference Guide With a Global Appendix Hypertext ed Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press ISBN 0 8018 2541 5 reference is to the 1999 Hypertext edition available online publisher and ISBN is for the original printed edition Phillips Catherine Robert Bridges A Biography Oxford University Press 1992 ISBN 0 19 212251 7External links EditFull text on Google Books Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Milton 27s Prosody amp oldid 1177819126, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
