The Arte of English Poesie Part 12

[Sidenote: _Enallage_, or the Figure of Exchange.]

Your figures that worke _auricularly_ by exchange, were more obseruable to the Greekes and Latines for the brauenesse of their language, ouer that ours is, and for the multiplicitie of their Grammaticall accidents, or verball affects, as I may terme them, that is to say, their diuers cases, moodes, tenses, genders, with variable terminations, by reason whereof, they changed not the very word, but kept the word, and changed the shape of him onely, vsing one case for another, or tense, or person, or gender, or number, or moode. We, hauing no such varietie of accidents, haue little or no vse of this figure. They called it _Enallage._

[Sidenote: _Hipallage_, or the Changeling.]

But another sort of exchange which they had, and very prety, we doe likewise vse, not changing one word for another, by their accidents or cases, as the _Enallage_: nor by the places, as the [_Preposterous_] but changing their true construction and application, whereby the sence is quite peruerted and made very absurd: as he that should say, for _tell me troth and lie not, lie me troth and tell not._ For _come dine with me and stay not, come stay with me and dine not._

A certaine piteous louer, to moue his mistres to compa.s.sion, wrote among other amorous verses, this one.

_Madame, I set your eyes before mine woes._

For, mine woes before your eyes, spoken to th'intent to winne fauour in her sight.

But that was pretie of a certaine sorrie man of law, that gaue his Client but bad councell, and yet found fault with his fee, and said: my fee, good frend, hath deserued better counsel. Good master, quoth the Client, if your selfe had not said so, I would neuer haue beleeued it; but now I thinke as you doo. The man of law perceiuing his error, I tell thee (quoth he) my counsel hath deserued a better fee. Yet of all others was that a most ridiculous, but very true exchange, which the yeoman of London vsed with his Sergeant at the Mace, who said he would goe into the countrie, and make merry a day or two, while his man plyed his busines at home: an example of it you shall finde in our Enterlude ent.i.tuled l.u.s.tie London: the Sergeant, for sparing of hors-hire, said he would goe with the Carrier on foote. That is not for your wors.h.i.+p, saide his yeoman, whereunto the Sergeant replyed.

_I wot what I meant Iohn, it is for to stay And company the knaue Carrier, for loosing my way._

The yeoman thinking it good manner to soothe his Sergeant, said againe, _I meant what I wot Sir, your best is to hie, And carrie a knaue with you for companie._

Ye see a notorious exchange of the construction, and application of the words in this: _I wot what I meane_; and _I meane what I wot_, and in the other, _company the knaue Carrier_, and _carrie a knaue in your company_.

The Greekes call this figure [_Hipallage_] the Latins _Submutatio_, we in our vulgar may call him the [_under-change_] but I had rather haue him called the [_Changeling_] nothing at all sweruing from his originall, and much more aptly to the purpose, and pleasanter to beare in memory: specially for our Ladies and pretie mistresses in Court, for whose learning I write, because it is a terme often in their mouthes, and alluding to the opinion of Nurses, who are wont to say, that the Fayries vse to steale the fairest children out of their cradles, and put other ill fauoured in their places, which they called changelings, or Elfs: so, if ye mark, doeth our Poet, or maker play with his wordes, vsing a wrong construction for a right, and an absurd for a sensible, by manner of exchange.

_CHAP. XVI._

_Of some other figures which because they serue chiefly to make the meeters tunable and melodious, and affect not the minde but very little, be placed among the auricular._

[Sidenote: _Omoioteleton_, or the Like loose.]

The Greekes vsed a manner of speech or writing in their proses, that went by clauses, finis.h.i.+ng in words of like tune, and might be by vsing like cases, tenses, and other points of consonance, which they called _Omoioteleton_, and is that wherin they neerest approched to our vulgar ryme, and may thus be expressed.

_Weeping creeping beseeching I wan, The loue at length of Lady Lucian._

Or thus if we speake in prose and not in meetre.

_Mischaunces ought not to be lamented, But rather by wisedome in time preuented: For such mishappes as be remedilesse, To sorrow them it is but foolishnesse: Yet are we all so frayle of nature, As to be greeued with euery displeasure._

The craking Scotts as the Cronicle reportes at a certaine time made this bald rime vpon the English-men.

_Long beards hartlesse, Painted hoodes witlesse: Gay coates gracelesse, Make all England thriftlesse._

Which is no perfect rime in deede, but clauses finis.h.i.+ng in the self same tune: for a rime of good simphonie should not conclude his concords with one & the same terminant sillable, as _less, less, less_, but with diuers and like terminants, as _les, pres, mes_, as was before declared in the chapter of your cadences, and your clauses in prose should neither finish with the same nor with the like terminants, but with the contrary as hath bene shewed before in the booke of proportions; yet many vse it otherwise, neglecting the Poeticall harmonie and skill. And th'Earle of _Surrey_ with Syr _Thomas Wyat_ the most excellent makers of their time, more peraduenture respecting the fitnesse and ponderositie of their wordes then the true cadence or simphonie, were very licencious in this point. We call this figure following the originall, the [_like loose_] alluding to th'Archers terme who is not said to finish the feate of his shot before he giue the loose, and deliuer his arrow from his bow, in which respect we vse to say marke the loose of a thing for marke the end of it.

[Sidenote: _Parimion_, or the Figure of like letter.]

Ye do by another figure notably affect th'eare when ye make euery word of the verse to begin with a like letter, as for example in this verse written in an _Epithaphe_ of our making.

_Time tried his truth his trauailes and his trust, And time to late tried his integritie._

It is a figure much vsed by our common rimers, and doth well if it be not too much vsed, for then it falleth into the vice which shalbe hereafter spoken of called _Tautologia._

[Sidenote: _Asyndeton_, or the Loose language.]

Ye haue another sort of speach in a maner defectiue because it wants good band or coupling, and is the figure [_Asyndeton_] we call him [_loose language_] and doth not a litle alter th'eare as thus.

_I saw it, I said it, I will sweare it._

_Caesar_ the Dictator vpon the victorie hee obteined against _Pharnax_ king of _Bithinia_ shewing the celeritie of his conquest, wrate home to the Senate in this tenour of speach no lesse swift and speedy then his victorie.

_Veni, vidi, vici, I came, I saw, I overcame._

Meaning thus I was no sooner come and beheld them but the victorie fell on my side.

The Prince of Orenge for his deuise of Armes in banner displayed against the Duke of Adua and the Spaniards in the Low-countrey vsed the like maner of speach.

_Pro Rege, pro lege, pro grege, For the king, for the commons, for the countrey lawes._

It is a figure to be vsed when we will seeme to make hast, or to be earnest, and these examples with a number more be spoken by the figure of [_lose language_.]

[Sidenote: _Polisindeton_, or the Couple clause.]

Quite contrary to this ye haue another maner of construction which they called [_Polisindeton_] we may call him the [_couple clause_] for that euery clause is knit and coupled together with a coniunctiue thus, _And I saw it, and I say it and I Will sweare it to be true._

So might the Poesie of _Caesar_ haue bene altered thus.

_I came, and I saw, and I ouercame._

One wrote these verses after the same sort, _For in her mynde no thought there is, But how she may be true to is: And tenders thee and all thy heale, And wisheth both thy health and weale: And is thine owne, and so she sayes, And cares for thee ten thousand wayes._

[Sidenote: _Irmus_, or the Long loose.]

Ye haue another maner of speach drawen out at length and going all after one tenure and with an imperfit sence till you come to the last word or verse which concludes the whole premisses with a perfit sence & full periode, the Greeks call it [_Irmus_,] I call him the [_long loose_] thus appearing in a dittie of Sir _Thomas Wyat_ where he describes the diuers distempers of his bed.

_The restlesse state renuer of my smart, The labours salue increasing my sorrow: The bodies ease and troubles of my hart, Quietour of mynde mine unquiet foe: Forgetter of paine remembrer of my woe, The place of sleepe wherein I do but wake: Besprent with teares my bed I thee forsake._

Ye see here how ye can gather no perfection of sence in all this dittie till ye come to the last verse in these wordes _my bed I thee forsake_.

And in another Sonet of _Petrarcha_ which was thus Englished by the same Sir _Thomas Wyat_.

_If weaker care of sodaine pale collour, If many sighes with little speach to plaine: Now ioy now woe, if they my ioyes distaine, For hope of small, if much to feare therefore, Be signe of loue then do I loue againe._

Here all the whole sence of the dittie is suspended till ye come to the last three wordes, _then do I loue againe_, which finisheth the song with a full and perfit sence.

[Sidenote: _Epitheton_, or the Qualifier.]

When ye will speake giuing euery person or thing besides his proper name a qualitie by way of addition whether it be of good or of bad it is a figuratiue speach of audible alteration, so is it also of sence as to say.

_Fierce Achilles, wise Nestor, wilie Vlysses, Diana the chast and thou louely Venus: With thy blind boy that almost neuer misses, But hits our hartes when he levels at vs._

Or thus commending the Isle of great Brittaine.

_Albion hugest of Westerne Ilands all, Soyle of sweete ayre and of good store: G.o.d send we see thy glory neuer fall, But rather dayly to grow more and more._

Or as we sang of our Soueraigne Lady giuing her these Attributes besides her proper name.

_Elizatbeth regent of the great Brittaine Ile, Honour of all regents and of Queenes._

But if we speake thus not expressing her proper name _Elizabeth_, videl.

_The English Diana, the great Britton mayde._

Then is it not by _Epitheton_ or figure of Attribution but by the figures _Antonomasia_, or _Periphrasis_.

[Sidenote: _Endiadis_, or the Figure of Twinnes.]

Ye haue yet another manner of speach when ye will seeme to make two of one, not thereunto constrained, which therefore we call the figure of Twynnes, the Greekes _Endiadis_ thus.

_Not you coy dame your lowrs nor your lookes._

For [_your lowring lookes_] And as one of our ordinary rimers said, _Of fortune nor her frowning face, I am nothing agast._