Historical Manual of English Prosody (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. A Historical Guide to English Metre, Rhythm, Rhyme, Stanza, and the Evolution of VerseBy George Saintsbury
Length9h 47m
About this audiobook
George Saintsbury's Historical Manual of English Prosody offers a compact yet learned account of English verse form, tracing the evolution of metre, rhythm, rhyme, stanza, and accent from early alliterative poetry through the major achievements of Chaucer, Spenser, Shakespeare, Milton, Dryden, Pope, and the Romantics. Written in a lucid but densely allusive scholarly style, the book belongs to the great late-Victorian and Edwardian effort to make English literary history systematic, while resisting purely mechanical theories of versification. Saintsbury was one of the foremost literary historians and critics of his age, a professor of rhetoric and English literature at the University of Edinburgh, and the author of influential studies on criticism, French literature, and English prose and verse. His lifelong immersion in comparative literary traditions helped shape his conviction that English prosody must be understood historically, as a living practice rather than a rigid set of abstract rules. This manual is recommended for readers who want more than a technical handbook: it is a guide to hearing English poetry across centuries. Students, poets, and scholars will find in it a bracing introduction to the craft, historical development, and critical interpretation of English verse.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A succinct Introduction situates the work's timeless appeal and themes.
- The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists.
- A detailed Historical Context immerses you in the era's events and influences that shaped the writing.
- A thorough Analysis dissects symbols, motifs, and character arcs to unearth underlying meanings.
- Reflection questions prompt you to engage personally with the work's messages, connecting them to modern life.
- Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance.
- Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.
Audiobook details
GenreLiterary Classics
Length9 hrs 47 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateNov 24, 2023
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Introduction
2Introduction
3Synopsis
4Historical Context
5PREFACE
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6BOOK I INTRODUCTORY AND DOGMATIC
7CHAPTER I INTRODUCTORY
8CHAPTER II SYSTEMS OF ENGLISH PROSODY—THE ACCENTUAL OR STRESS
9CHAPTER III SYSTEMS OF ENGLISH PROSODY—THE SYLLABIC
10CHAPTER IV SYSTEMS OF ENGLISH PROSODY—THE FOOT
11CHAPTER V RULES OF THE FOOT SYSTEM
12§ A. Feet
13§ B. Constitution of Feet
14§ C. Equivalence and Substitution
15§ D. Pause
16§ E. Line-Combination
17§ F. Rhyme
18§ G. Miscellaneous
19CHAPTER VI CONTINUOUS ILLUSTRATIONS OF ENGLISH SCANSION ACCORDING TO THE FOOT SYSTEM
20I. Old English Period Scansion only dimly visible.
21II. Late Old English with Nisus towards Metre ("Grave" Poem. Guest's text, spelling, and accentuation; the usual marks for the latter being substituted for his dividing bars, and foot division added in dots.)
22III. Transition Period Metre struggling to assert itself in a New Way. Part of the verses of St. Godric.
23IV. Early Middle English Period Attempt at merely Syllabic Uniformity with Unbroken Iambic Run and no Rhyme. Orm.
24V. Early Middle English Period Conflict or Indecision between Accentual Rhythm and Metrical Scheme. Layamon.
25VI. Early Middle English Period The Appearance and Development of the "Fourteener."
26VII. Early Middle English Period The Plain and Equivalenced Octosyllable.
27VIII. Early Middle English Period The Romance-Six or "Rime Couée."
28IX. Early Middle English Period Miscellaneous Stanzas.
29X. Early Middle English Period Appearance of the Decasyllable.
30XI. Later Middle English Period The Alliterative Revival—Pure.
31XII. Later Middle English Period The Alliterative Revival—Mixed.
32XIII. Later Middle English Period Potentially Metrical Lines in Langland (see) .
33XIV. Later Middle English Period Scansions from Chaucer.
34XV. Later Middle English Period Variations from Strict Iambic Norm in Gower.
35XVI. Transition Period Examples of Break-down in Literary Verse.
36XVII. Transition Period Examples of True Prosody in Ballad, Carols, etc.
37XVIII. Transition Period Examples of Skeltonic and other Doggerel.
38XIX. Transition Period Examples from the Scottish Poets.
39XX. Early Elizabethan Period Examples of Reformed Metre from Wyatt, Surrey, and other Poets before Spenser.
40XXI. Spenser at Different Periods
41XXII. Examples of the Development of Blank Verse
42XXIII. Examples of Elizabethan Lyric
43XXIV. Early Continuous Anapæsts
44XXV. The Enjambed Heroic Couplet (1580-1660)
45XXVI. The Stopped Heroic Couplet (1580-1660)
46XXVII. Various Forms of Octosyllable-Heptasyllable (late Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century)
47XXVIII. "Common," "Long," and "In Memoriam" Measure (Seventeenth Century)
48XXIX. Improved Anapæstic Measures (Dryden, Anon., Prior)
49XXX. " Pindarics " (Seventeenth Century)
50XXXI. The Heroic Couplet from Dryden to Crabbe
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