Charles Daindson — English Mystery Plays. 227 



a study of the prosody of the plays involves the discussion of nearly 

 all the forms of Middle English metre. It seems best, therefore, to 

 consider in brief the genesis of the leading types of English mediae- 

 val metres. 



The Latin of the Middle Ages was the reservoir from which the 

 Western literatures in common drew their metres. Within the cen- 

 turies preceding the rise of national literatures, the Latin of the 

 church had ceased to regard quantity, and had conformed to the 

 vulgar dialects in placing the stress upon the root syllable. Conse- 

 quently the monkish verse was an accentual verse, which, however, 

 although regardless of quantity, still gave heed to the regular suc- 

 cession of stressed and unstressed syllables. 



This verse under the influence of accent assumed new characteris- 

 tics. The metrical foot and the word became coincident, the line 

 with feminine ending prevailed, rime arose, and because of the fre- 

 quent occurrence of similar endings in Latin, that species of rime 

 known to the French as ' entrelacee,' or * lace,' where a succession of 

 lines, mounting sometimes into the hundreds, have but one rime, be- 

 came a famous metrical resource. 



The verse forms became fixed as types which were recognized as 

 the proper vehicles of expression, each for a variety of literature. 

 Thus the ^-accent line, or septenar, was used in satirical or political 

 poetry. Stanzaic formations, from which arose the 12-line stanza to 

 which the English metrical romance writers were so partial, are 

 found in church proses and Latin church mysteries. 



From these Latin metres directly, or through the medium of the 

 French, arose the English metrical lines, which were, in general, of 

 three varieties : the V-accent line, or septenar, the 6-accent line, or 

 Alexandrine, and the 4-accent line. These lines were combined in 

 various ways to form stanzas ; sometimes a model already established 

 in French or Latin was followed; sometimes a new stanzaic form, 

 the product of national genius, was originated ; but in ultimate 

 analysis each stanza can be resolved into lines of the three types — 

 the possible occurrence of a 5-accent line will be discussed later — 

 unless it be a direct imitation of a less usual French or Latin type. 



The Latin septenar was cultivated in England. It was used for 

 political poems from the time of King John, and probably earlier, 

 and was the customary form for the goliardic poems which usually 

 pass under the name of Walter Map. From this line and the stan- 

 zaic structure arising therefrom, sprang, without the aid of French 

 influence, as I think, the typical form of the septenar stanza in the 



