Part XII: The meter of Beowulf: Variants of the Five Types

While there are five basic types in Sievers' description of Anglo-Saxon alliterative verse, that is not the end of the story. There are quite a few variations allowed. We will talk about the principles which allow (or disallow) the variation later; first we need to know what patterns are possible. I will provide both modern English and Old English examples (using bolding to represent lifts and acute accents to represent syllable length, since HTML does not yet support the normal representation of long vowels.)

Sievers numbers the types, as follows:

• Type A (lift-dip-lift-dip)
  • A1 (PROUD and PASSIONate, SUDDENly SINGing, PROUDer than a PEAcock etc.)
    This is the standard A type of half-line. The lifts can be single long stressed syllables, or they can be resolved, as in most of the half-line types listed here. The first dip can be strong; the second dip must be a single unaccented syllable.

    Old English examples:
    gomban gylden
    wéox under wolcnum
    wonsceaft wera
    sceaþena þréatum
    fréowine folca

    
    
  • A2 (neither AGE nor WISdom, if HEARTS are HARDened, nor SEEK after FORtune, etc.)
    This is an extended type. The presence of an extra one or two syllables before the first lift is termed anacrusis, so this is "type A with anacrusis". In Anglo-Saxon, type A2 is very limited -- most of the extra syllables are grammatically required prefixes like ge- or be- or enclitics like negative ne. In a modern imitation of Anglo-Saxon verse, type A2 should be avoided like the plague, as too many A2 lines fundamentally change the meter, and make it sound like iambic verse. In general, anacrusis works best in the first half line, where the extra syllables start the line.

    Old English examples:
    gehéde under heofenum
    gewát þá ofer wæ'gholm
    ongeat þá se góda
    ne gewéox hé him tó willan

    
    
  • A3 ( SO that he will SEE us, BUT not in WINTer, etc.)
    This variant is a source of controversy. The modern consensus is that type A3 only has one lift, preceded by a long string of weak syllables, typically grammatical function words. Sievers treated the initial word as stressed: SO that he will SEE us, BUT not in WINTer. But alliteration falls on the strong stress; the initial weak syllable need not alliterate.

    Old English examples:
    þæt hé þone bréostwylm
    ðá wæs on burgum
    nó ðý æ'r hé þone healsbéah

    
    
• Type B (dip-lift-dip-lift)
  • (brought PAIN and LOSS, was GIVEN much GRACE, neither TIME nor TIDE etc.)
    Standard type B, with or without resolution. The first dip can be strong; the second must be a single unaccented syllable.

    Old English examples:
    on sídne sæ'
    thurh sídne sefan
    siþðan grimne gripe
    þenden wordum wéold

    
    
• Type C (dip-lift-lift-dip)
  • C1 (they were FAINT-HEARTed, were MADE CAPTive, this SUDDEN IMpulse, after HARD LABOR, etc.)
    Standard type C, with or without resolution. The first dip can be strong; the second must be a single unaccented syllable.

    Old English examples:
    þá wiþ Gode wunnon
    mid scip-herge
    over hron-ráde
    gyf him ed-wenden
    

    
    
  • C2 ( a DARK PREsence, his HEART BItter, what they SEEK EVer, etc.)
    This variant involves what is technically called suspension of resolution. Normally, a word like presence or bitter would be resolved and treated as a lift. But in this case, the short stressed syllable counts as the lift, the syllable after it, as the final dip. As before, the first dip may be either weak or strong.

    Old English examples:
    druncon wín weras
    in gear-dagum
    þæt wæs gód cyning
    

    
    
• Type D (lift-lift-dip)
  • D1 ( SAD SONGwriters, HALF-SKILLfully etc.)
    This is standard type D. The dip must contain a secondary stress; in this variant, it is the first element in the dip.

    Old English examples:
    wís wélþungen
    heall heorudréore
    betst beadorinca
    lindhæbbende
    gúðfremmendra
    andswarode
    
    

  • D2 ( BOLD BREADwinners, etc.)
    The secondary stress in the dip is a single short accented syllable, with suspension of resolution.
    

    Old English examples:
    stéap stánhliðo
    léof landfruma
    
    

  • D3 ( HALF-WIllingly, etc.)
    As in C2, the second lift is a single short accented syllable, with suspension of resolution.
    

    Old English examples:
    þéodcyninga
    eorðcyninges
    
    

  • D4 ( DARK DREARiness, SAVAGE SENTiments, FAINTHEARTedness, etc.)
    This is the second common variant of type D, along with D1. The dip must contain a secondary stress; in this variant, it is the last element in the dip.
    

    Old English examples:
    bád bolgenmód
    eal inneweard
    micel morgenswég
    hár hilderinc
    bát bánlocan
    
    

  • D* ( EVil ELements, SOOTHing CERTainties, ANGry ATtitudes etc.)
    Like types D1 or D4, with the addition of an extra syllable between the two lifts.

    Old English Examples:
    réþe renweardas
    burston bánlocan
    síde sæ'næssas
    
    

• Type E (lift-dip-lift)
  • E1 ( SONGwriters SING, HARD-hearted MEN, etc.)
    This is standard type E, with a secondary stress in the dip.

    Old English Examples:
    féascaftum men
    folcwaldan sunu
    wlitebeorhtne wang
    mancynne fram
    heteníðas wæg
    
    

  • E2 ( LEARN ever LESS, THOUGHTfully SANG, etc.)
    The secondary stress is a single short accented syllable, with suspension of resolution.

    Old English examples:
    Súð-Dena folc
    láðlicu lác
    

    
    

Back: Being like Beowulf: the Sievers Types
Next: A Framework

Copyright ©2000, Paul Deane