OBSERVATIONS ON ENGLISH METRE

Though I would not with Mr. Urry,¹ the Editor of Chaucer, insert words and syllables, unauthorized by the oldest manuscripts, to help out what seems lame and defective in the measure of our ancient writers, yet as I see those manuscripts, and the first² printed editions, so extremely inconstant in their manner of spelling one and the same word as to vary continually, and often in the compass of two lines, and seem to have no fixed orthography, I cannot help thinking it probable, that many great inequalities in the metre are owing to the neglect of transcribers, or that the manner of reading made up for the defects which appear in the writing. Thus the y which we often see prefixed to participles passive, ycleped, yhewe, &c. is not a mere arbitrary

|         [i][ii][iii][iv][v][vi][vii][viii][ix][x][xi]xiixiiixivxvxvixviixviiixixxxxxixxiixxiiixxivxxvxxvixxviixxviiixxixxxxxxxixxxiixxxiiixxxivxxxvxxxvixxxviixxxviiixxxixxlxlixliixliiixlivxlvxlvixlviixlviiixlixlliliiliii---[1][2][3]456[7]89101112[13]14151617181920[21]2223242526272829303132333435363738[39]4041424344454647484950515253545556[57]585960616263646566676869707172[73]747576777879[80]818283848586[87]888990919293949596979899100101102103104105106107108109110111112113114115116117[118]119120121[122]123124125126127128129130131132133134135136137138139140141142143144145146147148149150151152153154155156157158159160161162163164165166167168169170171172173174175176177178179180181182183184185186187188189190191192193194195196197198199200201202203204205206207208209210211212213214215216217218219220221222223224225226227228229230231232233234235236237238239240241242243244245246247248249250251252253254255256257258259260261262263264265266267268269270271272273274275276277278279280281282283284285286287288289290291292293294295296297298299300301302303304305306307[308][309]310311312313314315316317318319320321322323324325326327328329330331332333334335336337338339340341342343344345346347348349350351352353354355356357358359360361362363364365[366][367]368369370371372373374375376377378------------         |