  Some Alleged Irregularities in the Versification of Friar Bacon If we take the first quarto of Friar Bacon as we find it, we shall see that some of the peculiarities in verse structure are mannerisms with which every student of contemporary drama is familiar, and that others may be justified as intended for rhythmical and dramatic expressiveness. These considerations convince me that it is best to leave the versification—and consequently most of the text—as it was in 1594.
Sometimes for the tripping effect, as in many of the lines assigned to Margaret, e.g. iii. 10, 13, 15, 21, 30, 31; and in lines expressive of the blithe, or the beautiful, such as i. 14, 15, 56, 60, 75, 81. Such stress-syllable openings are frequently counterbalanced by an anapÆstic second or third foot; occasionally by two anapÆsts, as in
2. The stress syllable is used also to open the verse-section after the pause, e.g.:—
But 'over,' 'safely,' might be read with the hovering accent. So xvi. 21 ('prÌncÈs'). Methods (1) and (2) appear to be combined in
3. The extra syllable is adroitly used before the verse-section (the epic cÆsura) as a compensation for the stress-syllable opening:—
It emphasizes the reluctant utterance. Ignoring this, Dy. and G. change text and rhythm to:—
2. In vi. 4, 171, vii. 25, etc., such words as devil, spirit, are contracted by synÆresis or slurring. In x. 55, xiii. 3, xiii. 38 (while I've; he'd; thou'st), we find elision or apocope, as, also, in xiv. 79, vi. 162, xiii. 37 ('n if she bÉ; 'n if your hÓnour; there'll bÉ). In vig'r, El'nor, fri'r, pow'r, fi'ry, syncope. In vi. 135, ix 129 (To?avoid; no?unlesse), synaloepha. Evidently the dramatist has in mind the spoken sentence, in which slurring and rapid pronunciation are more likely to occur than omission of syllables. (a) In the first foot, for an absent thesis:—
unless we read with hovering accent, sc. "MÀde mÈ ? thÍnke," which wouÝld accumulate the emphasis upon 'thinke.' Do., Dy., W., gratuitously insert 'to' before 'thinke.'
Another acephalous line. The suppression of the light syllable accentuates the arsis 'Why.' For similar suppression in questions see i. 20, ii. 156.
Accumulated emphasis of surprise. So, in iii. 4: (? ThÓmas, maids when they cÓme), etc.; and in
Dy., G., W., "Farewell, oh Love" for first two feet. But why should Margaret repeat a verb which she has used twice already in this speech? As for
Dy. says this line is mutilated, and G. inserts 'vanitie' after 'Pride.' But the line is all right. See also C, 2 b, below.
I prefer this to Ward's emendation (approved by Wagner) 'Gratious as is,' because the Q is less sibilant and, owing to the pause, more deliberate and forcible. Greene may have written 'As gracious'; for compare Looking-Glasse, l. 14, 'As glorious,' etc.
The rhetorical emphasis on 'her' compensates (with the hovering accent) for the aposiopesis before 'Persia.' Greene's metrical effects don't always count upon the fingers, but they are often rhythmically delightful. (b) For a lacking thesis in the second foot, a similar rhetorical pause, sometimes also an anapÆstic third foot, may compensate, as in
The 'a' is in Q 1. Wagner's emendation (Anglia, p. 523; 1879), "he's chang'd to melancholy dump," is futile.
Pause for reflection. The ear is satisfied by the spondaic first foot and the anapÆstic third. (With i. 11 and ii. 62 cf. A 2 above.)
The rhythmical aposiopesis represents a rhetorical pause for which the strongly accented 'troopt' and 'all' compensate. Do., Dy., G., W., read 'troopÈd,'—but I don't think Greene did.
I have inserted a dash for the pause of decision after 'content': Lambert accepts the proposition and acts. No metrical stop-gap is necessary.
A second 'ah' suggests itself, and Dy. and W. print it. But I have no doubt Greene intended the speaker to draw breath for a sigh indicative of despair.
The missing arsis is supplied by the pause that succeeds a command. With different punctuation we have '? CÓme! " SÚssex, let's Ín,' which is as good. The editors keep Lacie talking. (c) In the third foot, lacking thesis:—
If the emperor did not pause for language suitable to the emergency, it was because he pronounced 'cates' as a dissyllable. Cf. Marlowe's Faustus (Dyce ed. 1850, p. 211), "Pardon me sweet, ? Í forgot myself."
Pause for surprise. If the pause should fall before 'have' it would indicate the transition to inquiry. In this and the next instance anapÆstic compensation is prominent.
But it is rhetorically more natural to read: '? WhÝ ? VÁndermÁst, art thou ÓvercÓme?' (d) In the fourth foot, lacking thesis:—
Pause justified by change of speaker, and the indignant inquiry. 2. Two or more syllables lacking. To assume that omissions of this kind are due to carelessness on the part of author, scribe, or printer, is to beg the question. It is more reasonable to premise the genuineness of the lines and consider whether each in turn is not to be justified by its dramatic conditions. The following sixteen exhaust, I think, the more flagrant instances of lacuna in this play. In none would I alter the text of the first quarto. (a) Edward's lines:—
Abrupt outcry, in which the less and the more forcible exclamatory pauses are metrically provided for by the lacking thesis and arsis respectively. The
The former pause for breathless amazement; the latter for decision and a gesture. He raises his hand to deal the blow.
Dyce, "some word or words wanting." Others would supply "Helpe! and" and so reduce the line to mediocrity. The omission is intentional. The exclamatory pause after 'Bacon' is metrically equivalent to an accented syllable. The pause before 'stop' is for Edward's quandary—as if he should for a moment cast about for an appropriate request. The line might of course be interpreted so as to require one lacking thesis before 'Helpe' and one before 'Bacon.'
First pause, the gasp before an interrogatory exclamation. Second pause for Bacon's 'Sit still,' which as a convertible foot is the last of this line and the first of the next. vi. 176. The foot pause before 'Flees' may allow for a burst of laughter. Wagner suggests 'very fear,' which no compatriot of Greene, if he read the line aloud, can tolerate. Until English is a dead language it will hardly be judicious to encourage foreign emendations of our masterpieces. (b) Margaret's lines. iii. 46. Suppression of the first two feet in rapid dialogue. The words 'sent this rich purse' might have been set down before 'To me?' but with what advantage save to fill the pentameter? For the clause has occurred once and the verb twice already in the last six lines. The suppression intensifies the dialogue, and accentuates the mingled surprise and impatience of the speaker. viii. 132. A rhetorical pause occupies the first foot or the last. Like the preceding instance in so far as the aposiopesis indicates question and surprise. Dy., G., insert 'indeed' before 'mean': easy but needless. x. 156. Dy. queries 'shall be' after 'wealth.' But the words 'shall be' are implied from the preceding line, and so intentionally omitted. An additional rhetorical emphasis falls upon trash:—
xiv. 20. Impassioned soliloquy within an address, like x. 158. The light syllables of the first and second feet are suppressed to increase the effect of the accented syllables: ? PrÍde ? flÄtterie and—. ii. 157. The infuriate Burden occupies the first foot with a stifled 'Henly!' or something unreverend. ix. 120. An interrogatory pause for the first foot or an exclamatory for the last; unless we combine the lines thus:—
ix. 162. WhÝ, ? Bacon, whÍther dost thÓu send him. As in vi. 161, and ix. 148, the lacunÆ correspond with moments of breathless surprise; and emphasis is accumulated upon the syllables respectively succeeding. If we scan without pauses, the lacunÆ will occupy the fifth foot which might naturally be reserved for Bacon's echo-question [send him?]. 'Whither,' probably contracted 'whe'r.'
Another echo-foot. Unless we pronounce 'rÉturne' for which there is authority, as in iv. 56, 'prÓgress,' ix. 242, 'Éxceed.' See Schipper, Neuengl. Metr., p. 153.
The thesis of the third foot allows for the recoil of horror; the arsis for the transition to revenge—the drawing of the rapier. xiv. 99. Echo of the previous idea, unuttered because dramatically understood; [ 'As ? glÁd ?] as if,' etc. Dy. suggests insertion 'As glad as if,' and G. adopts. No.
The silent foot allows for the rhetorical pause between command and affirmation. Cf. vi. 146. Dy.'s 'Let us march hence,' and G.'s 'Let us march on,' will do well enough if we must keep somebody talking all the time. 1. Readers should allow for feminine endings, as
or BolÓnia, gliding ending.
Of feminine endings Knaut counts ten, and about four gliding. 2. They should allow also for the anapÆst in itself (as ix. 231) or by way of compensation for a missing syllable in an adjoining foot. Two such give the appearance of a senarius. Occasionally, as in vi. 163 ('gay straightwÁy,' or 'way from FrÉs—'), the foot is awkward. Even so, I do not think that the emendation 'straight' (Dy., W.) for this 'straightway' is necessary. 3. Senarii. (a) The following are such in appearance only. They should be read as pentameters in which the anapÆst, slurring, or elision, is employed. In
we have the epic cÆsura. So also vi. 94, cÆsura after 'Beckles'; and so
In ix. 191. ? MÁrtiall PlantÁgenet " HÉnries highmÍnded sÓnne, we have the lyric cÆsura; so also in
Cf. Schipper Neuengl. Metr., p. 25 n.
anapaestic readings with natural apocope or syncope preserve the pentameter. Dy's 'you' for 'your honor' in vi. 162, and omission of 'my lord' in xiv. 79, are therefore unnecessary. xvi. 64 appears to have six feet; but if it is taken in sequence with the preceding line the effect is of two five-foot lines. (b) The following senarii of Q 1 are real, and should be preserved, though Dyce and Ward generally place the first foot in a line by itself. The Marlowan reform had not yet completed the rout of the Alexandrine,—and even if it had Greene would have remained unrouted. He uses the Alexandrine, sometimes unconsciously, sometimes for variety. Perhaps a few of these senarii, i. 10, 83; ii. 112, 148; iii. 26; vi. 77; ix. 185; x. 149; xi. 7, 92; xii. 18; xiv. 78; xvi. 40, are accidental, but most of them are iv. 11. Ward retains the senarius. Dyce thinks 'corrupted,' and queries, 'As Agenor's damsel did,' for 'through the deep' is almost a repetition of 'through the seas.'—Wagner: 'like Europa through the deep.'—Perhaps (says Palgrave acc. to Ward) the dramatist pronounced the name Ágenor. We might then scan:—
But it is quite as likely that Greene intended, or let slip, a senarius. ix. 112. The quartos are right, and we should scan thus:—
For 'fayer,' etc., see B 1, above. By altering to 'Rheims,' Do., Dy., G., and W. miss the metre. G., for instance, reads 'Rheims [and]'; Elze (Notes on Elizab. Dramatists, Halle, 1886, cxcix): 'Of RheÍms, of LoÚvain Ánd fair RÓtterdÁm'; Knaut: 'Rheims, LoÚvain, PÁris Ánd.' But if we preserve the spelling of the quartos the scansion is simple. A Few Conclusions.—Greene was sensitive to dramatic niceties of utterance. Hence most of the metrical idiosyncrasies which are improperly called irregularities. An induction from the instances cited under C above shows that the following were the conditions of utterance to which he accorded special elocutionary recognition: the pause before a question or a response and the increase of emphasis upon the syllable succeeding the silence; the pause for reflection, and the pause before deliberate utterance; decision attending a command; the pause of speechless anger; the stoppage due to sighing, sobbing, horror, or any recoil of emotion; the period of, or after, a gesture, an inarticulate cry, a burst of laughter, an exclamatory remark; the pause during the suppression of the self-explanatory. The examination of his practice in Friar Bacon shows that in order to represent these conditions in dramatic blank verse Greene availed himself of silent beats with a uniformity that might be called system, were it the outcome of anything less spontaneous than the rhetorical instinct and the feeling for rhythm. Subordinating these to his knowledge of stage 'business,' Greene seems, then, to have developed a metrical use of the lacuna somewhat like this:—
These conclusions are confirmed by an examination of the other plays in which the text is fairly authentic. The dramatist naturally and, in that sense, intentionally suited his 'lines' to the histrionic emergency: an achievement not difficult for one of his rhetorical quality, who was also familiar with the practice of the stage. On similar grounds and with a regard likewise for the conditions of verse at the time, his senarii are to be retained and defended. Most of the attempts to reduce his dramatic blank verse to anything like measured uniformity are, therefore, in my opinion academic and superfluous. They are indeed worse, for not only do they ignore the personal equation, they tend to pervert the data from which the history of English metres must be derived. There may, of course, be lines, like vi. 17 and ix. 47 of this play, where dramatist or intermediary has unwittingly omitted something, or actor wantonly added, but they are few; and unless the sense calls out for orthopÆdic assistance, no literary, historical, or philological interest is subserved by doctoring the text. |
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