§ 2 Metre and Versification.
In this and the following section, all line numbers are active links. To reduce visual chaos, link highlighting has been turned off. This may be overridden by your personal browser settings.
As I mentioned before, the romance of Sir Torrent is composed in the well-known tail-rhymed twelve-line stanza, and belongs to that class of it in which the first and the second couplets have different rhyme-sounds (cf. Koelbing, Amis and Amiloun, p. xiv ff.). Only the incompleteness of many stanzas, and the many defects in reference to the rhyme, can excuse Halliwell for not apprehending the character of the metre. As to the structure of the eight lines of the four couplets, each contains (or at least ought to contain) four accents, the caudæ three; but as we, unfortunately, possess only one MS., a conclusive statement on this point is impossible. There is no doubt about the fact that neither the really incorrect rhymes nor the wanting of them can be due to the author of the poem: even when romance poetry was decaying, the poets were fairly perfect rhymers: with all deficiencies in this department, the copyists are to be charged.
Consonant rhymes (s. Schipper Altengl. Metrik, p. 299) are found in Torrent in the following passages: l. 141 rode—rode ags. rôd—râd. 450 the—the ags. þeón—þe. 1558 indede—dede. 2205 lay—lay, sg.—plr. prt.
Identical rhymes are frequent, especially in the caudæ: 81 stond—stond. 177 there—there. 500 he—hee. 1887 there—there. 2538 blithe—blithe. 39 take—take. 342 bold—bold, a. s. o.
Assonances: 195 bon)—Rome. 518 undyrstond—strong. 537 name—alone. 699 yod—fotte. 758 name—tane. 896 bryng—wynd. 1257 overcom)—Aragon). 1768 man)—cam). 2164 anon)—fome. 2544 sithe—hide.
Besides the rhymes we find abundant alliteration, as in most of the Middle English Romances. On alliteration, cf. Regel, Die alliteration in Laȝamon, Germ. Stud. I. 171; F. Lindner, The alliteration in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, Essays on Chaucer, Pt. III., p. 197 ff. Koelbing, Sir Tristrem, p. xxxvii, and Amis and Amiloun, p. lxvi. Lindner as well as Koelbing has adopted Regel’s classification, and so shall I. The most frequent is two alliterative words in one verse; they can be classed in the following way:—
I. A. The same word is repeated in two succeeding lines; v. 456 f.: Forthe sche browght a whyt sted, As whyt as the flowyr in) med; v. 618 f.: In IV quarters he hym drowe, And euery quarter vppon a bowe. v. 2026 f.: But ran into a wildernes Amongist beests that wyld wes. v. 2465 f.: They axid hors and armes bryght, to horsbak went thay in ffere.
B. Alliterative combinations, one part of which is a proper name. Torrent is several times combined with the verb take; 26: Towarde hym he takythe Torrayne; 224: Torrent thether toke the way; 519: Torrent toke a dulful wey; 2269: Whan sir Torent was takyn) than); 91: Now, be my trowthe, seyd Torent than); 1161: Alas, said Desonell̴ the dere; 2523: As was dame Desonell̴; 1906 = 1946 = 1969: Mary myld. To send unto her Sathanas. v. 1091: The castell̴ of Cardon).
II. A. Words of the same root are alliterative. 133: Torrent, on kne knelyd he; 671: That on hys kne he kneld; 2502: And knelid on her kne; 205: Torrent knelyd on hys kne = v. 528; 881: And knelyd vppon ys kne; 1883: She knelid down) vppon) her kne; 2563: Down) they knelid on) her kne; 512: By dymmynge of the day; 1158: For her love did I never no dede; 1801: That ylke dede, that she hath done; 1943: How she flew in a fflight; 2384: Liffe and lyvelode, whill̴ I lyve; 233: A lyon) & a lyonasse; 1671: For to se that selly sight; 407: For the talles thou hast me told; 1466: And fals talis hym) told; 2578: Euer we will̴ be at youre will̴.
B. Relations in which alliterative words stand to each other according to their meaning.
a. Concrete ideas are joined together because they belong to the same sphere of life. 2017: Byrdus and bestis, aye woo ye be; 113: bone and blod; 21: kyng and knyght; 83: And ryche castelles in that contre; 251: In lond with a fyndes fere; 102: That fyndes fare for aye; 1094: Both at knyght and knave; 584: Bothe in) frethe and in feld; 660: Stomlyng thurrow frythe and fen); 1378: Both be hold and be hyll̴; 2398: lym) and lith; 750: Lytyll̴ and mykyll̴, lese and more; 1899: That was lord of all̴ that lond; 2152: Loo, lordys of euery lond; 2375: With all̴ maner of mynstralsye; 149: He reynyd hys sted vnto a stake; 1065: Waytes on the wall̴ gan blowe; 13: water and wynde.
b. In the same way abstract ideas are connected, so far as they belong to the same sphere of life. 460: That dethe ys dynt schalt þou not thole; 1600: Of deth yaue he no dout; 782 = 2062: feyer and fre; 2153: Falshode wyll̴ haue a foule end; 1988: Helpe and hold I shall̴ hym yeve; 1492: They sat and song; 683: Cryst hym saue and see; 1303: That he was sad and sore; 1612: set sadly and sore; 335: God that sofryd wonddes sore; 322: styff and strong = 1491 = 2590; 1205: That wekyd was and wight; 1584: wekyd and wight; 1849: Her one child woke and be-gan to wepe; 1559: And wot ye well̴ and not wene; 246: Sche weppte, as sche were wod.
C. The grammatical relations in which the alliterative words stand to each other.
a. Subst. and adj. in attributive or predicative combinations. As bold as eny bore; With browes brod and wyde; 142: hys bugell̴ bold; 307: In a dongon) that ys dym; 82: My fayer) forestes fellythe downe he; 209: The feyer) fyld; 426: glemyrryng ase the glase; 1592: good gate; 171 = 596: the holtes hore; 1484: To an hye hyll̴; 1183: sydes sare; 154: Thowe the wey nevyr so wykkyd were; 2054: wekyd weders; 506: In the wyld-some way; 535: Wyldsom weyes haue I went; 2030: She went on that wilsom) way.
b. Verbs or adjectives combined with the adverb or substantive which contains their secondary adverbial meaning. 1478: To be here at his bane, cf. 1678: That there his bane hath be; 1944: To her birdus was she boun); 2016: With blis on euery bowȝe; 135: That bowght hym with hys blod; 1045: Thurrow the body he gan hym bere; 1404: To the bote they bare; 334: Thus he covyrd owt of care; 27: That dowghtty ys in dedde, cf. 1725; 98: With-owt fere that he schold fare; 603 = 977: Also fast ase he myght fare; 536: With fyndes for to fyght; 802: To fyght with that fyndes fere; 1262: That was grow both grene and gay; 1060 = 2330: Torent be the hond he hent; 270: That meche ys of myght; 713: That meche wase of myght; 24: For God ys most of myght, cf. 1112: To a man off myght; 1879: Vp she rose ageyn) the rough; 2100: Go sech her in) the see; 2129: And sett hym) oute in to the see; 2469: That semely to se were; 126: And symly was to sene; 415: That dare I sothely sey; 1170: Torrent sett on hym) so sore; 139: Serttes, yf I hym slepyng slone; 181: Torrent vndyr hys spryt he sprent; 179: But stond styll̴; 2410: He is so stiff at euery stoure; 987: Torrent in) the storrope stod; 1912: For no stroke wold she stynt; 2060: By a tokyn) I shall̴ the tell̴; 2397: Or walkyd in wede; 383: In hys walke ther ase he went; 725: And went forthe on hys wey; 107: And on hys wey gan he wynd; 2030: She went on that wilsom) way; 989: ale wyld at wyle; 2088: In no wise he wold; 1206: To wed her to my wyffe; 749: That wyt ys vndyr wede; 1315: All̴ men wonderid on that wight; 33: worthyest in wede.
c. Substantives and verbs are combined in the relation of subject and predicate. 2221: Down knelid that knyght; 854: Whether the fynd can fyght; 2390: There that his lady lent; 2064: My love was on the lent; 1219: Gret lordys to churche her led; 170: The fyndes spere sparrythe hyme nothyng; 84: No ston lettythe he stond.
d. Verbs and substantives are combined as predicate and object. 2490: his bak to bend; 2532: That couth moche curtesye; 273: Thy dethe than wyll̴ he dyght, cf. 1043: Hys dethe to hyme ys dyght; 1648: Thy deth now is dight; 2123: What deth they wold hym do; 161: My lordes frethe thus to fell̴; 2235: Found hym his fill̴ off ffyght; 1743: The fforward ye to fulleffylle; 651: He gathyred svm of hys gere; 210: Vpp both his handes he held; 1799: For Iesu is love, that harood hell̴; 1820: Whan they led that lady ffre; 2080: Leve we now that lady gent; 1663: Ech on other laid good lode; 1495: To god that made man; 435: A gret maynerey let he make ryght; 264: To hym sche mad here mone; 645: He rawght Torrent soche a rowght; 1172: And all̴ to sheverd his sheld; 502: Tho he be strod anoble stede; 2482: Torent be strode a stede strong; 281: I schall̴ the tell̴ soche a tokyn); 2013: Ne wanted she no woo; 115: He that schall̴ wend soche a wey; 439: Hom-ward to wend ther wey; 2448: And than) to wend her way; 2457: And to her logyng went her way; 1544: Other wayes yf I wend; 207: That hathe thys world to wyld.