from the English of the nineteenth century, as the dress of the two periods differs. The dress of the two periods differs both in material and in make; and so the English of Chaucer differs from the English of Tennyson both in vocabulary and in construction-both in words and in grammar. But the differences are very slight. There is a much wider difference between the English of the thirteenth and of the fourteenth centuries, than there is between the English of the fourteenth and that of the nineteenth century. That is to say, five centuries have made less change than one. This is due to the fact that in the fourteenth century there took place an almost sudden flooding of the English tongue by a French vocabulary. The grammar of Chaucer differs from the grammar of our present English, in possessing a much larger number of inflections, and in a few idioms which we have lost. Among the inflections may be noted:(a) e for the plural of adjectives— And smalë fowlës maken melodie. (b) en for the plural of verbs. (East Midland dialect.) (c) e to form adverbs from adjectives; as brightë, brightly; deepë, deeply. Among the idioms are: (a) Nam for am not; nyllë for will not (hence willy nilly for will he or will he not). (b) “The helmës they to-hewen and to-schrede;" for "they began to hew and to cut." One reason why many persons find Chaucer difficult to read is, that it looks difficult. That is, his spelling is very new and strange to a modern eye. But this difficulty vanishes when he is read aloud; and the ear finds that easy which to the eye seemed very difficult. There is no room here to enter fully upon the scansion of Chaucer; but the following hints will keep almost every one in the right path :(a) Read the lines aloud, and trust entirely to the ear, with perfect confidence in the scanning of every line.1 66 1 Professor Morley says, If the text be accurate, and we pronounce their words as men pronounced them when they were first written, the lines of Gower and Chaucer are perfectly smooth." And the American poet, Mr Russell Lowell, the most genial critic of Chaucer who has yet written, says, When I remember Chaucer's malediction upon his scrivener, and consider that by far the larger proportion of his verses (allowing always for change of pronunciation) are perfectly accordant with our present accentual system, I cannot believe that he ever wrote an imperfect line."—" My Study Windows." (b) The accent varies between the English accentuation and the French. The English habit pushes the accent as far back as possible. In Pope's time éssay was pronounced essay. Chaucer uses both; sometimes he writes langáge, and sometimes lángage; fórtune and fortúne; bátaille and batáille. (c) Sound the final e in verbs, adjectives, and nouns, whenever the measure demands it. Chaucer makes Romë rhyme with to me, and time with by me. 14. CHAUCER'S STYLE. Chaucer's style is manly, simple, and homely. The chief quality in it is sincerity. He does not make phrases about a thing or an event: he describes directly, and in the most simple language. His style is photographic in its accuracy and truth to details. He possesses humour and pathos-both in the highest degree; great sweetness and freshness; and his rhythms are often full of the most exquisite melody. He was master of the largest vocabulary of any man of his century—a vocabulary derived both from real life and from books. 15. CHAUCER'S METRE. The metre most generally employed by Chaucer is the common rhymed iambic of five feet. The technical name of this metre is Iambic Pentameter; and the formula is 5 x a. That is, it consists of five unaccented and five accented syllables. The number of accented syllables cannot be increased; but the number of unaccented may. When rhymed, its more usual name is Heroic Verse; when unrhymed, it is called Blank Verse. It is the measure most common in English poetry; but no writer has shown greater power over it than Chaucer. Compared with the variety of Chaucer, Pope's lines are singularly monotonous. Chaucer's lines are seldom, if ever, difficult to scan, if we attend to his accentuation. Thus in the line So prík | eth hém | natúre | in hére | coráges |, we have only to remember that nature and corages have the French, and not the English, accent. So in the line His mouth as wide was as a gret fornéys, the word fornéys (furnace) has the accent on the last syllable. In the Romaunt of the Rose and the Boke of the Duchesse he uses a four-accented verse, or Iambic Tetrameter (4 x α). 16. Chaucer abounds in remarkable lines which are full of meaning or of striking description. Of the Knight in the Prologue he says that, though he was a very distinguished ("worthy") man, he was wise and as meek in his bearing "as a maid." (a) And though that he was worthy he was wys, And of his port as meke as is a mayde. He nevir yit no vileinye ne sayde In al his lyf unto no maner wight. That is, "he never said an unkind thing to any kind of person." The four negatives, which intensify each other, should be noticed. Of the Friar, he says:— (b) And in his harpyng, whan that he hadde sunge, His eyghen twynkled in his heed aright As don the sterrës in the frosty night. In reference to the practice of his Physician, he says with a sly humour : (c) For gold in phisik is a cordiál, Therefore he loved gold in speciál. The devotion of his Priest comes out in vivid characters in the lines: (d) Wyd was his parisch, and houses fer asonder, In siknesse nor in meschief to visíte The ferrest in his parissche, moche and lite. He visited the farthest off in his parish, rich and poor, whenever sickness or misfortune happened to them. The Reeve (or Steward) has his dwelling (wonyng) on a heath : : (e) His wonyng was ful fair upon an hethe With grenë trees i-schadewed was his place. Chaucer is full of the belief that love, and humility, and pity, and gentleness are always to be found with a good heart. (f) For pité renneth sone in gentil herte. He has a lively way of stating a fact-such as, that a sick man is past physic. (g) And certeynly where nature wil not wirche (work) Farwel phisík: go bere the man to chirche. And he has himself felt the sorrows of humanity: (h) Infynyt been the sorwes and the teerës Of olde folk, and folk of tendre yeerës. When Palamon offers marriage to "Emelye the bright," he says: (i) I redë that we make, of sorwes two, O parfyt joyë lasting ever mo. That is, "I counsel that we make, out of our two griefs, one perfect joy that will last for ever." His descriptions of what we can see are always perfect. Thus:— (j) His nayles whitter than the lilye flour, And lik the burnischt gold was his colour. And he says of Dido (the spelling is modernised) — (k) Upon a lowly palfrey, paper-white, With saddle red, embroidered with delight, That healeth sick folk of the night's long sorrow. Mr. Hazlitt, an acute and sensitive critic, remarks: "There is an instance of the minuteness which Chaucer introduces into his serious descriptions, in his account of Palamon when left alone in his cell:: (1) Swiche sorrow he maketh that the gretë tour Resouneth of his yolling and clamoúr : The purë fetters on his shinnës grete Were of his bitter saltë terës wete. The mention of this last circumstance looks like a part of the instructions he had to follow, which he had no discretionary power to leave out or introduce at pleasure." His ideas of goodness and of the "gentle" character in man are the orthodox ideas of a true seer and poet :— (m) Thou mayst wel seyn this in soth, That he is gentil, bycause he doth As longeth to a gentilman. D (n) Lok, who that is most vertuous alway, Privé and pert (open), and most entendith aye To do the gentil dedes that he can, Tak him for the grettest gentilman. He shows what gentilesse is, by the most beautiful and truest simile perhaps in all literature: (0) Tak fuyr and ber it in1 the derkest hous And lat men shut the dorës and go thenne," Alway, as doth the fuyr, lo in his kynde!" Chaucer is never tired of enlarging upon the goodness of good His description of Custance in the Man of Lawes Tale, gives his ideal of a noble and good woman. women. (p) This was the commune voys of every man Our Emperoúr of Romë, (God him seé !9) A doughter hath, that, syn the world bigan, I pray to God in honour hir susteene And wolde 12 she were of al Európe the queene. In her is heigh beautée, withoutë pride, 9 God him see! God guard him! 10 Rekne reckon. = 11 Nas-ne was; that is, was not. So Chaucer contracts the French negative ne, and the verbs am, is, was, were, hath, would, and wot into nam, nis, nas, nere, nath, nolde, and not. 12 Wolde-that is, I wolde. 13 Grenehede-greenness or "verdancy." 14 Humblesse. The French ending for nouns in esse, instead of the Latin ity, is common in Chaucer. He has noblesse, almesse (alms), largesse, etc. |