Cliousoii de Roland. 129 



First Encounter and The Second Encounter are treated likewise ^ ; 

 with the result that horizontal proportion suffers. So does vertical 

 proportion, for many of the intense passages of O are here in- 

 effective, because of the presence of superfluous strophes or lines.- 

 If above we compared the action of O to a succession of ever 

 higher W'a\'es, we ma}- now compare that of Stengel's text to a 

 choppy sea. 



Let us turn to the composition of the parts; and first, of the 

 chaj^ters. After what has been said just above, it is evident that 

 those chapters — whether there be two, or four, or five of them — 

 which treat of the quarrel, the treacher}', and the first and second 

 and third 3 encounters, are badly composed. Several others are just 

 as imperfect : that which treats of the choosing of the rearguard 

 is weakened, if not b}^ strophe Ixiv a, surely by Ixvi a — nothing 

 should intervene between v. 802 and v. 814 * ; that which treats of 

 the second horn-incident is spoiled by an execrable anticlimax — 

 strophe cxha, and especially vv. 1850v— 1850x; the chmactic chapter 

 is certainly weakened b}' strophes cxliia, cxliv a, cliva, clxii a, clxviiia^ 

 the poet of O's original knew that throughout this chapter, of all 

 chapters, he must proceed rapidly in the straight and narrow path 

 of his story, but the hypothetical poet of Stengel's x' loitered on the 

 right hand and on the left. To sum up, then, Stengel's text presents 

 seven of the twelve chapters of the story in an impaired form. 



Many of the strophes, also, show imperfect composition. Owing 

 to the presence of superfluous lines, or the shifting of important 

 lines, many of them lose unity, coherence, emphasis. This may be 

 best shown by parallel quotations from O and Stengel's x'.^ Here 

 are vv. 331-336: 



1 By the insertion of sti'ophes cxi a, cxi b, and cxi c. The reader feels 

 vaguely that vv. 1188—1690 should be divided into t^^o, if not three 

 chapters, but lie finds no plain boundaries, as he does in O. 



- For instance, the di'amatic ending of the quarrel, which is weakened 

 by the insertion of strophe xxv a and such lines as vv. 333a-333e; or 

 the splendid close of chapter vi, which is ruined hy strophe cxi a. 



^ In Stengel's text tlrree encounters are described at length, a fact in 

 itself signiticant of the supposed poefs disregard of proportion. Moreover, 

 owing to the insistence on the third encounter, the second is no longei- 

 felt as a pendant to the first, and the similarities and dissimilarities of 

 the two lose their effectiveness (cf. supra., p. 118). 



* Cf. {siipra, p. 120) the first technical sin of vv. 803-813. 



* In each instance, however, in order fully to appreciate the perfection 

 of 0, and the imperfection of Stengel's text, the reader should examine 

 the context. 



Trans. Conn. Acad., Vol. XV. 9 July, 1909. 



