Re: NATLANG: Middle English Stories

David Peterson scripsit:

> For an English (literature) class up at
> Berkeley, a paper I did was I wrote two "missing" stanzas from The Faerie Queene, and
> reinserted, and then discussed their effect on the poem as a whole, as well as
> their internal structure.
What blows me away about Spenser is *how* he was able to concoct so
many stanzas in that insanely difficult rhyme scheme.  Here's my
absolute fave, from II:iv (for non-Spenser types, it's about three
brothers who wind up in love with the same woman):

        Stout Priamond, but not so strong to strike,
        Strong Diamond, but not so stout a knight,
        But Triamond was stout and strong alike:
        On horsebacke usèd Triamond to fight,
        And Priamond on foote had more delight,
        But horse and foote knew Diamond to wield:
        With curtaxe usèd Diamond to smite,
        And Triamond to handle speare and shield,
        But speare and curtaxe both us'd Priamond in field.

The extra foot in the final line is intentional.

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John Cowan   http://www.reutershealth.com   jcowan@reutershealth.com