Charles Davidson — English Mystery Plays. 241 



4. In alliteration this stanza shows — 

 a) The type, in verse 3. 



h) Cross alliteration, in verse 8. 



c) Double alliteration with one syllable a semi- stress, in verses 1 

 and 5. 



d) Alliteration with unstressed syllable, in verse 7. 



e) Deficient alliteration, in verses 2, 4, and 6. 



f) The presence of but little alliteration in the second section. 

 All the stanzas of these York plays show some irregularities, but 



many have fewer exceptions than this. 



5. Distinguishing marks of early formation — 

 a) Lack of excessive alliteration. 



h) Regularity of iambic movement. 



c) Typical rime in second section. 



d) Absence of ' bob.' 



Whether the double quatrain stanza, with structural alliteration 

 and masculine rimes throughout, is of earlier or later construction 

 than examples 17 and 18, admits of doubt. I incline to think it later, 

 and formed from Ex. 18 by omitting the cauda. In any case there 

 is prooP that the same author wrote in both stanzas at a time when, 

 if the evidence can be trusted, a poet usually confined his efforts to 

 one style of English verse. The similarity of these double quatrains 

 to Ex. 18 is quickly seen. 



Ex. 19. York Plays No. VIII, last stanza— . 



U' 



— 



1 u ' 







O = 1 1 



U - 



o 



= 



U ; 



= 



llU=z 



u - 



o 



— 



o . 







II U 



U z 



c 



— 



t^ : 



= 



IIU:= 



<J: 



u 



= 



U : 



?T= 



(I Oz= 



U 



u 



— 



UU 



= 



n U 



U 





— 



OKJ 





II U 



<J 



o 





: U 





:ii U =. 



O 



a b a b a b a b.2 



In Ex. 18 the beginning of stanzaic deterioration, as shown by ir- 

 regularities of alliteration, was noted, but in neither Ex. 17 nor Ex. 

 18 was there any variation from alternate riming. This, together 

 with masculine verse endings, must be retained so long as conscious- 

 ness of the origin of the stanza from the English septenar is present. 

 But with the loss of the tradition a departure from the type may be 

 expected. Now in the Latin stanza the entrelacee rime was the 

 favorite ; therefore contamination of the English type through 



1 See p. 367. 2 A curve should extend to the last line, as to the preceding:. 



