§ 241. The Norse languages give us not only numerous specimens of alliterative poetry, but also the rules of its prosody. These are, perhaps, more artificial than actual practice requires. They are also more stringent and elaborate than those of the AngloSaxons.

Thus, the alliterative syllables take names, one being the head-stave and the other two the by-staves.

The head-stave has its place at the beginning of the second line, or (if we throw the two in one) immediately after a break, cæsura, pause, or division.

The by-staves belong to the first line out of two, or to the first member of a single one.

An unaccented syllable at the beginning of the second line (or member) counts as nothing.

Again, the vowels which collectively are dealt with as a single letter not only may, but must, be different. This goes far to enable anything and everything to be metre— inasmuch as all that is wanted to constitute either one long or two short lines is the occurrence of three words beginning with a vowel, and accented on their initial

syllable. The following is from Thorlakson's Translation

of Paradise Lost:

Um fyrsta manns
felda hlýðni
ok átlystíng

af epli forboðnu,
hvaðan óvægr
upp kom dauði,
Edens missir,
ok allt böl manna;
partil annarr einn,
ærði maðr,
aptr fær

oss viðreista,

ok afrekar nýan
oss til handa
fullsælustað

fögrum sigri ;

§ 242.

Sýng þú, Menta

móðir himneska!
þú sem Hórebs fyrr
á huldum toppi,
eða Sínaí,
sauðaverði

innblèst fræðanda
útvalit sæði,

hve alheimr skópst
af alls samblandi;
Eða lysti þik
lángtum heldr

at Zions hæð
ok Sílóa brunni,
sem framstreymdi

hjá Frétt guðligri, &c.

Of Man's first disobedience, and the fruit
Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste
Brought death into the world, and all our woe,
With loss of Eden, till one greater Man
Restore us, and regain the blissful seat,

Sing, heavenly Muse, that on the secret top

Of Oreb, or of Sinai, didst inspire

That shepherd, who first taught the chosen seed,
In the beginning how the Heavens and Earth

Rose out of Chaos: or if Sion's hill

Delight thee more, and Siloa's brook that flow'd
Fast by the oracle of God, &c.

Constant and inconstant parts of a rhyme.—Of the three parts, or elements, of a rhyme, the vowel and the part which follows the vowel are constant; the part which precedes being inconstant. Hence

(1.) In two or more syllables that rhyme with each other, neither the vowel nor the sounds which follow it can be different.

(2.) In two or more syllables that rhyme with each other, the sounds which precede the vowel cannot be alike.

Now the number of sounds which can precede a vowel is limited. It is that of the consonants and consonantal -combinations; of which a list can be made à priori.

§ 243. This gives us the following method (or receipt) for the discovery of rhymes :—

1. Divide the word to which a rhyme is required, into its constant and inconstant elements.

2. Make up the inconstant element by the different consonants and consonantal combinations until they are exhausted.

3. In the list of words so formed, mark off those which have an existence in the language. These will all rhyme with each other; and if the list of combinations be exhaustive, there are no other words which will do so. Thus, from the word told, separate the o and -ld, which are constant.

Instead of the inconstant element t, write successively P, pl, pr, b, bl, br, &c.: so that you have the following list :-t-old, p-old, pl-old, pr-old, b-old, bl-old, br-old, &c. Of these, the words like plold, blold, and brold, that have no existence in the language, are possible, although not actual, rhymes.

§ 244. All words have the same number of possible, but not the same number of actual rhymes. Thus, silver is a word amenable to the same process as told; yet silver is a word without a corresponding rhyme. This is because the combinations which answer to it (pilver, plilver,