Other schemes that occur are: a b a b c5 d3 c5 d3, a b a b c d c4 d3, a b a b c c d4 d3, a b a b4 c c2 d d4, a b a4 b3 c c d d4, a ~ b a ~ b3 c4 d3 d4 d3, a b ~ a b ~3 c4 d ~3 c4 d ~3, a ~ b c ~ b d ~ e3 f4 e3, a ~ b a ~ b3 c d c4 d3, a ~ b a ~ b c ~ d c ~4 d5 (M. Arnold, p. 2), &c.; for numerous examples see Metrik, ii, §§ 412, 414, 415.
Sometimes stanzas occur, the isometrical part of which forms the cauda, as on the scheme a4 b3 a4 b3 c c d d4 in Moore, Sovereign Woman:
For examples of other forms (a b a4 b2 c d C D4, a ~3 b4 a ~3 b4 c b c b4, a4 b3 c4 b3 d e d e3, &c.) see Metrik, ii, §§ 413, 416..
§ 277. Very frequently stanzas occur which are of an entirely anisometrical structure in both parts. To this group belong the first tripartite anisometrical stanzas of the Middle English period, contained in Wright’s Spec. of Lyr. Poetry, p. 111 (two songs). Their stanzaic form (a4 b3 a4 b3 b b5 c7 c5) is also of great importance, on account of the fact that the first five-foot verses as yet known in English poetry occur in the cauda of these stanzas. The first strophe may serve as an example:
This stanza is also interesting on account of its regular use of masculine rhymes in the first and in the third line, and of feminine rhymes in the others. The structure of the five-measured verses employed in this stanza has been referred to before (§ 153).
Very often both main parts, the upsong and the downsong, have crossed rhymes in Modern English, e.g. in a form of stanza with the scheme a5 b3 a5 b3 c d5 c3 d2 in Southey, To a Spider (ii. 180):
A structure analogous to that of the two last-quoted specimens is exhibited in many stanzas occurring in earlier Modern English poetry, as in Cowley, Herbert, Browne, Carew (a5 b4 a5 b4 c4 c5 d4 d5, a5 b2 a5 b2 c4 c3 d5 d2, a3 b2 a3 b2 c c4 d d5, a4 b2 a4 b2 c3 c2 d d3); other forms, corresponding only in the upsong or downsong to the Middle English stanza quoted above, are a ~4 b2 a ~3 b2 c ~4 d3 c ~4 d3, a4 b ~3 a4 b ~3 b ~2 b ~3 c4 b ~3, a4 b3 a4 b3 c d3 c4 d3, &c., used by Burns, Moore, and Mrs. Hemans. For examples see Metrik, ii, §§ 417, 418.
§ 278. The next group consists of stanzas, one main part of which consists of a half or of a whole tail-rhyme stanza. The first of these two forms is used e.g. by Burns in the song She’s Fair and Fause (p. 204), where the stanza consists of four- and three-foot verses on the model a4 b3 a4 b3 c c c4 d3:
Other stanzas of this class correspond to the formulas a4 b3 a4 b3 a a a4 b3, a ~4 b2 a ~4 b3 c ~ c ~ c ~4 b2, a3 b2 a3 b2 c c c3 b2. For examples see Metrik, ii, § 419.
There is another form of stanza the first part of which according to the Middle English usage consists of a complete tail-rhyme stanza (cf. the ten-lined stanzas of this group), while the cauda is formed by a rhyming couplet, so that its structure corresponds to the scheme a a4 b3 a a4 b3 c c4; it occurs in Spenser, Epigrams, ii (p. 586):
Similar stanzas of other metres are very frequently met with, as e.g. stanzas corresponding to the formulas a a4 b3 c c4 b3 d d5, a a3 b2 c c3 b2 d d6, a a2 b3 c c2 b3 b b7, and a ~ a ~4 b5 c ~ c ~4 b5 d d5. The reverse order (i.e. frons + two versus) we have in a a3 b b2 c3 b b2 c3 and a a5 b b3 c5 d d3 e5. For examples see Metrik, ii, § 420.
A stanza corresponding to the formula a b4 c3 a b4 c3 a4 D3 occurs in M. Arnold’s The Church of Brou (p. 17)
§ 279. Among stanzas of nine lines, those with parallel rhymes must again be mentioned first; as e.g. a strophe on the scheme a a b b c c d d4 d5, in Akenside, Book I, Ode X, To the Muse (Poets, ix. 780). Other stanzas occurring also in more recent poetry (Wordsworth, W. Scott) are on the schemes a a b b4 c c2 c d d4, a a b b c4 d3 c c4 d3, a4 b3 a a4 b3 c c d D4. For examples see Metrik, ii, § 421.
Similar stanzas, also with an isometrical first part, but with crossed rhymes, are not very often met with. The schemes are a b a b4 c c2 c d d4, a b a b c c d d4 d5, a b a b b c b b4 c3, a b a b c d c d4 e2, a4 b3 a a4 b3 c ~ d c ~ d4, &c. Specimens of them are also found in modern poets, as in Moore, Burns, Walter Scott, &c. For examples see Metrik, ii, § 422.
More frequently stanzas occur with an anisometrical first and last part and crossed rhymes in each of them; the schemes are a4 b5 a4 b5 c4 d3 c5 d d4, a5 b2 a5 b2 c c5 d d2 c4, a4 b2 a4 b2 c4 d d2 c c4. The most popular, however, are those stanzas in which one or other of the two main parts consists of Septenary verses; they are of frequent occurrence in Burns and other modern poets; a stanza on the scheme a4 b3 a4 b3 c4 d ~3 c4 d ~3 r2, e.g., is found in Burns, The Holy Fair (p. 14):
For similar examples see Metrik, ii, § 424.
Other stanzas are formed by combination with a complete or a shortened tail-rhyme stanza; so that we have schemes like a a4 b3 c c4 b3 d d d4, a ~ a ~ b c ~ c ~ b4 d ~ d ~2 b4, a a2 b4 c c2 b4 d d2 b4. They occur in Carew (Poets, iii. 709), Dryden (p. 368), and Thackeray (p. 237). The formula a4 b3 a4 b3 c d c c4 d3 we find in Campbell (p. 82), a4 b3 a4 b3 c c4 b3 d d4 in Byron’s Ode to Napoleon (p. 273):
For other specimens see Metrik, ii, §§ 424, 425
§ 280. Among the stanzas of ten lines, those with an isometrical first part and parallel rhymes may first be mentioned; they correspond to the schemes a a b b c d d e e4 c5, a a b b c d c d4 f3 f4, a a b b c4 d3 c c c4 d3, a a b b4 c d c d2 e e4, and are found in Akenside, Wordsworth, and Moore. Next come stanzas with an anisometrical first part according to the formulas a5 a4 b5 b4 c c5 d d e4 e5, a4 a5 b4 b5 c d c4 d3 e e5, a ~ a ~3 b b4 c ~ c ~3 d d4 e ~ e ~3, occurring in Cowley and Campbell (cf. Metrik, ii, §§ 427, 428).
In other stanzas, crossed rhymes are used in the isometrical first part; they correspond to the formulas a b a b5 c4 d3 c4 d3 e6 e7, a b a b c c d e d5 E2, a b a b c d e5 c3 d e5, a b a b c3 c2 d3 d2 e3 e4, and are found in Browne, G. Herbert, and Ben Jonson (ib. § 429).
In modern poetry simpler stanzas of this kind are used; one e.g. on the scheme a ~ b ~ a ~ b ~3 c c4 d ~ e ~ d ~ e ~3 (the cauda being thus enclosed by the two pedes) in Moore’s song Bring the bright Garlands hither:
Similar stanzas corresponding to the formulas a ~ b a ~ b2 c c4 d ~ e d ~ e2, a ~ b ~ a ~ b c ~ d c ~ d2 e e4, a b a b c d c d4 e3 e4 and a ~ b a ~ b4 c ~4 d3 c ~4 d3 c ~4 d3, are used by the same poet in With Moonlight Beaming, The Young Indian Maid, Guess, guess, and from this Hour.
Many stanzas of this group with an isometrical first part are formed by combination with a tail-rhyme stanza, which then generally forms the cauda, as in one of Cunningham’s stanzas, viz. in Newcastle Beer (Poets, x. 729), the stanza consisting of four- and two-stressed verses on the scheme a b a b4 c c2 d4 e e2 d4:
For examples of many similar forms, e.g. a b a b c c d e e4 d3, a5 b b4 a5 c c d e e d3, a b a b4 c c2 d4 e ~ e ~2 d4, a b a b4 c c2 d3 e e2 d3, a b a b3 c ~ c ~1 d3 e ~ e ~1 d2, see Metrik, ii, § 431
§ 281. Stanzas of this kind with an anisometrical first part occur in the Middle English period: e.g. in Wright’s Spec. of Lyr. Poetry, p. 83, on the scheme a4 b ~3 a4 b ~3 c c4 d ~3 e e4 d ~3:
The shorter, Septenary part of the stanza represents the frons, the tail-rhyme stanza, the versus. Of a similar form (a4 b3 a4 b3 a a4 b3 a b3 a2) is the stanza of the poem An Orison of our Lady (E. E. T. S., vol. xlix, p. 158). In Modern English also allied forms occur; one especially with the scheme a4 b3 a4 b3 c c d e e4 d3 in Gray, Ode on the Spring (Poets, x. 215); other forms are a4 b3 a4 b3 c c2 d3 e e2 d4, a4 b3 a4 b3 c c d e e4 d5, a b3 a4 b3 d d4 e3 f f4 e3. (For examples see Metrik, ii, § 432.) The reverse combination, viz. tail-rhyme stanza and Septenary (on the scheme a a4 b3 c c4 b3 d4 b3 d4 b3), also occurs in Middle English times[195]), e.g. in Wright’s Spec. of Lyr. Poetry, p. 87:
Similar stanzas occur also in Modern English; e.g. one on the formula a a2 b3 c c2 b3 d4 e3 d4 e3 in Burns (p. 255), another on the scheme a a2 b3 c c2 b3 d e3 d4 e3 (= Poulter’s Measure in the cauda), ib. p. 189.
Other ten-line stanzas consisting chiefly of Septenary verses or of Poulter’s Measure correspond to the formulas a4 b3 a4 b3 c4 d3 c4 d3 e e4, a b3 a4 b3 c d3 c4 d3 e e4, a b a4 b3 c d c4 d3 e e3. For examples, partly taken from Moore, see Metrik, ii, § 435.
Stanzas of this kind consisting of five-foot verses are rarely met with, e.g. a5 b3 a5 b3 c5 d3 c5 d3 e e4, a b4 a5 b4 c c d d e e5, a5 b3 a5 b3 c c4 d2 d5 e2 e5; as in Spenser and Browne (cf. Metrik, ii, § 434)
§ 282. Stanzas of eleven lines= are also rare. There is one with an isometrical first part (on the scheme a b a b5 c c2 c3 d2 d5 x2 d6) in Ben Jonson, Cynthia’s Revels (Poets, iv. 610); another in Campbell’s Gertrude of Wyoming (st. xxxv-xxxix), corresponding to the scheme a b a b4 c3 d d d4 c3 e e4.
Other stanzas of an almost entirely anisometrical structure consist of a combination with a tail-rhyme stanza, as e.g. a Middle English stanza on the scheme a a4 b3 a a4 b3 a4 b3 a a4 b3, with a regular tail-rhyme stanza representing the pedes, and a shortened tail- rhyme stanza representing the cauda; it occurs in the Towneley Mysteries, pp. 221–3. A similar one we have in Phineas Fletcher (Poets, iv. 460) on the formula a ~2 a ~3 b2 e ~2 e ~3 b2 d ~4 e ~ e ~2 d d5, and another one in Leigh Hunt, Coronation Soliloquy (p. 225) which corresponds to the formula a a2 b ~3 c c2 b ~3 d d2 e ~3 f4 e ~3.
In other stanzas parts only of tail-rhyme stanzas occur, as in a strophe of the form a4 b ~3 c4 b ~3 d e d d4 e3 r R4, used by Wordsworth in The Seven Sisters (iii. 15):
Other stanzas of this kind are formed on the schemes a4 b2 a4 b2 c c2 d3 e4 d2 e4 d2 (Moore, Love’s Young Dream), a b b a c c d e e d5 e3 (Swinburne, Ave atque Vale, Poems, ii. 71). Cf. Metrik, ii, §§ 436, 437.
§ 283. Stanzas of twelve lines are very numerous. One of the Middle English period we have in Wright’s Spec. of Lyr. Poetry, p. 27; it is formed on the scheme a4 b3 a4 b3 b b b c3 D D D4 C3 and is similar to those ten-lined stanzas mentioned above, which consist of two Septenary verses and a tail-rhyme stanza; the second part of which, being the refrain, thus becomes the cauda of the stanza. In the Modern English period some simple stanzas with an isometrical first part and parallel rhymes may be mentioned in the first place. These are constructed on the schemes a a b b c c d d4 e4 f2 e4 f2, a a b b c c d d e e f4 f3 and occur in Mrs. Hemans (iv. 171; vii. 155); stanzas of this kind with crossed rhymes are likewise met with, e.g. a ~ b a ~ b4 c c3 d5 e e f f3 d5 in Burns, p. 188.
Pretty often we find stanzas for singing, the cauda of which is enclosed by the pedes; in the first stanza the two pedes together form the refrain, in the others, however, only the last one, e.g. in stanzas on the schemes A ~ B A ~ B4 c4 d3 c4 d3 A ~ B A ~ B4, e ~ f e ~ f4 g4 h3 g4 h3 A ~ B A ~ B4 in Hymns Ancient and Mod., No. 138, consisting of trochaic verses:
Similar stanzas frequently occur in Moore, e.g. stanzas on the models A ~ B A ~ B4 c c d3 d2 E ~ B E ~ B4, and f ~ g f ~ g4 h h i3 i2 E ~ B E ~ B4 (in Love’s light summer-cloud), A B ~ A B ~3 c d ~3 c4 d ~3 A B ~ A B ~3, e f ~ e f ~3 g h ~3 g4 h ~3 A B ~ A B ~3 (in All that’s bright must fade). For other examples see Metrik, ii, § 441.
Similar stanzas of Septenary metres, also common in Moore, have the formulas a4 b3 a4 b3 c4 d3 c4 d3 E4 F3 E4 F3 (in When Time), A4 B3 A4 B3 c4 d3 c4 d3 A4 B3 A4 B3 (st. i), d4 e3 d4 e3 f4 g3 f4 g3 A4 B3 A4 B3 (st. ii); only in st. i the cauda is in the middle; in the others it closes the stanza (Nets and Cages).
Other stanzas have the reverse order of verses, as e.g. stanzas on the schemes a ~3 b4 a ~3 b4 c ~3 d4 c ~3 d4 E ~3 F4 E ~3 F4 (To Ladies’ Eyes), A ~3 B4 A ~3 B4 c d c d4 A ~3 B4 A ~3 B4 (Oh! Doubt me not). This sort of stanza also occurs in Moore with other metres, e.g. according to the formulas A4 B2 A4 B2 c3 d2 c3 d2 A4 B2 A4 B2, e4 b2 e4 b2 f3 g2 f3 g3 e4 b2 e4 b2 (Not from thee) and there are still other varieties in Moore and in some of the more recent poets. Cf. Metrik, ii, §§ 443–5
§ 284. Among the stanzas of thirteen lines, one belonging to the Middle English period has been mentioned above (p. 342, note), which is formed by combination with a tail-rhyme stanza.
In the few Modern English stanzas of this length we generally find also a part of a tail-rhyme stanza, as e.g. in the cauda of a stanza constructed on the formula a b ~ a b ~ c d ~ c d ~4 E F ~4 g g2 F ~4 (Moore, Lesbia hath, &c.); or in a stanza like a ~ b a ~ b4 c c2 b4 d d2 e f e f4, deficient in one four-stressed tail-verse as in Moore, The Prince’s Day:
For other forms of stanzas belonging to this group see Metrik, ii, § 447
§ 285. More numerous are stanzas of fourteen lines. Judging by the examples which have come to our knowledge, they are also, as a rule, formed by combination with a tail-rhyme stanza; as e.g. in a stanza by Browne (Poets, iv. 276) on the scheme a b a b c a c a5 a a2 b3 c c2 b3; another stanza, frequently used by Burns, corresponds to the formula a a4 b3 c c4 b3 d4 e3 d4 e3 f ~2 g3 h ~2 g3 and occurs, e.g., in his Epistle to Davie (p. 57):
A similar stanza is found in Moore, The Sale of Loves, a4 b ~3 a4 b ~3 c4 d ~3 c4 d ~3 E E2 F ~3 G G2 F ~3. In other stanzas used by this poet, the tail-rhyme stanza forms the cauda enclosed by two pedes (see § 283); e.g. in Nay, tell me not, dear, on the scheme a b a b4 c c2 d4 e e2 d4 F G F G4. Another stanza of the form A B ~ A B ~3 c c2 d3 e e2 d3 A B ~ A B ~3, f g ~ f g ~3 h h2 i3 k k2 i3 A B ~ A B ~3, is used in Oft, in the stilly night.
As to other forms cf. Metrik, ii, § 448. Stanzas, the enclosing pedes of which are formed by two tail-rhyme stanzas, are discussed ib. § 449 (schemes: a a2 b ~3 C C2 b ~3 d ~ d ~3 e e2 f ~3 C C2 f ~3, g g2 h ~3 i i2 h ~3 k ~ k ~3 l l2 m ~3 C C2 m ~3)
§ 286. Some stanzas of still greater extent (not very common) are also formed by combination with tail-rhyme stanzas. There are a few stanzas of fifteen lines, e.g. one on the model a a2 b3 c c2 b3 d d2 e3 f f2 e3 g G3 G4 in Moore, Song and Trio; one on a ~ a ~ b ~ b ~2 c1 d ~ d ~ e ~ e ~2 c1 f ~ f ~ g ~ g ~2 c1 in Shelley, The Fugitives (iii. 55); and one on a ~ a ~ a ~ b c ~ c ~ c ~ b d ~ d ~ d ~ e f ~ f ~2 e4 in Swinburne, Four Songs in Four Seasons (Poems, ii. 163–76).
Two stanzas of sixteen lines occur in Moore on the schemes a a2 b ~3 c c2 b ~3 d e d e3 f f2 g ~3 h h2 g ~3 (The Indian Boat), and a a2 b ~3 c c2 b ~3 d d2 e ~3 f f2 e ~3 G ~4 H H2 G ~3 (Oh, the Shamrock).
A stanza of seventeen lines (a a4 b3 a a4 b3 c c4 b3 c c4 b3 d4 e3 d d4 e3) is found in a Middle English poem in Wright’s Spec. of Lyr. Poetry, p. 47; it consists of two six-lined, common tail-rhyme stanzas (the pedes), and a shortened one (forming the cauda).
A stanza of eighteen lines on the formula a a4 b3 c c4 b3 d d4 b3 e e4 b3 f f g g g f2 occurs in Wright’s Pol. Songs, p. 155 (cf. Metrik, i, p. 411); the scheme might also be given as a a4 b2, &c., if the tail-rhyme verses be looked upon as two-stressed lines. A simpler stanza according to the scheme a a2 b3 c c2 b3 d d2 b3 e e2 b3 f f2 g3 h h2 g3 is used in The Nut-Brown Mayd (Percy’s Rel. II. i. 6). Cf. § 244, also Metrik, i, p. 367, and ii, p. 715.
Similar stanzas are used by Shelley (in Arethusa, i. 374) and by Moore (in Wreath the Bowl). Cf. Metrik, ii, § 453.
Lastly, a stanza of twenty lines with the scheme a b ~ a c d b ~ d c e e3 f4 g g3 f4 h h3 i4 k ~ k ~3 i4, occurs in The King of France’s Daughter (Percy’s Rel. III. ii. 17); cf. Metrik, ii, § 454.
§ 287. Introductory remark. At the very beginning of the Modern English period the poetry of England was strongly influenced by that of Italy. Among the strophic forms used by the Italian poets, two especially have had an important share in the development of English metre: the sonnet and the canzone. Apart from those direct imitations which we shall have to notice later, the sonnet form tended to make more popular the use of enclosing rhymes, which had until then been only sparingly employed in English poetry; while the canzone with its varied combinations of anisometrical verses, mostly of eleven and seven syllables, gave rise to a variety of similar loosely constructed stanzas, as a rule, of three- and five-foot verses.
At the same time, however, these Modern English stanzas of a somewhat loose structure were also affected by the stricter rules for the formation of stanzas which had come down from the Middle English period. Hence their structure frequently reminds us of the older forms, two adjoining parts being often closely related, either by order of rhymes, or by the structure of the verse, or by both together, though the old law of the equality of the two pedes or of the two versus is not quite strictly observed.
This explains the fact that some stanzas (especially the shorter ones) have a structure similar to that of the old tripartite stanzas; while others (chiefly the longer ones) not unfrequently consist of four or even more parts.
In the first group the chief interest centres round those which have enclosing rhymes in their first or last part. Although the transposition of the order of rhymes thus effected in the pedes or in the versus was common both in Northern French and Provençal poets,[196] the teachers of the Middle English poets, we find scarcely a single example of it in Middle English, and it seems to have become popular in Modern English only through the influence of the Italian sonnet.
In accordance with the analogy of the isometrical stanzas or parts of stanzas this arrangement of rhymes is found also in the anisometrical ones; so that we have first parts (pedes) both on the scheme a b b a4, a b b a5 or a4 b b3 a4, a5 b4 b4 a5. From the arrangement of rhymes this order was transferred to the lines themselves; thus a stanza with enclosing rhymes consisting of two longer lines with a couplet of short lines between them, as in the last example, is transformed into a similar stanza with crossed rhymes according to the formula a5 b4 a4 b5, the shorter lines being, as before, placed between the longer ones (or vice versa a4 b5 a5 b4). It is evident that here too in spite of the regular arrangement of rhymes the two pedes are not alike, but only similar to each other.
§ 288. Six-lined stanzas of this kind, with an isometrical first part or isometrical throughout, occur pretty often; one e.g. on the scheme a b b a c c4 is met with in John Scott, Ode XIX (Poets, xi. 757):
For similar stanzas according to the formulas a b b a a b4, a b b a c c5, a b b a c3 c5 (Milton, Psalm IV), a b b a5 c4 c5, and a b b a c5 c3, see Metrik, ii, § 456.
Other stanzas have anisometrical first and last parts; as e.g. one on the model a5 b b4 a5 c4 c3 which was used by Cowley, Upon the shortness of Man’s Life (Poets, v. 227):
Similar stanzas are found in later poets, as e.g. Mrs. Hemans, D. G. Rossetti, Mrs. Browning, corresponding to a5 b b4 a5 c4 c5, a3 b b5 a3 c c5, a5 b b3 a4 c5 c3, a3 b4 b5 a4 b5 a3, a b3 b4 a3 c c4, &c. (For specimen see Metrik, ii, § 458.)
Even more frequently we have stanzas of three quite heterogeneous parts; the lines rhyming crosswise, parallel, or crosswise and parallel. They occur both in the earlier poets (Cowley, Herbert, &c.) and in those of recent times (Southey, Wordsworth, Shelley, the Brownings, Swinburne, &c.). A song by Suckling (Poets, iii. 730) on the scheme a3 a b b2 c c4 may serve as an example:
For an account of other stanzas of a similar structure (e.g. a a5 b b4 c c3, a a4 b b c3 c5, a5 a3 b b c4 c5, a2 a b b c4 c1, &c.) see Metrik, ii, §459.
Very often we find stanzas of combined crossed and parallel rhymes; one e.g. on the model a b a5 b6 c c5 in Shelley, A Summer-Evening Churchyard (i. 160):
Many stanzas of a similar kind correspond to the schemes a a4 b c2 b4 c3, a4 b3 a b c c4, a3 b5 a b4 c5 c4, a b a5 b c c4, a5 a b c c b4 c5, a4 b ~2 a a4 b ~a4, a5 b3 a b c5 c3, and a b c c a4 b3; for specimens see Metrik, ii, §§ 460–3.
Stanzas consisting of shorter lines are not so often met with; we have an example (on the model a b a2 b c4 c3) consisting of iambic-anapaestic verses in R. Browning, On the Cliff (vi. 48):