The Composition of Old English Poetry [Paperback]

This book offers an imaginative way of understanding the relationship between syntax and metre in Old English poetry.This book offers an imaginative new way of understanding the relationship between syntax and metre in Old English verse. It challenges the view that Old English poetry is composed in loose syntax to compensate for the strict requirements of prosody, such as metre and alliteration. The author proposes a 'prosodical' syntax to replace the famous syntactic laws of Hans Kuhn through its greater accuracy and wider range of application. She formulates three concise rules which apply to the entire Old English poetic corpus.This book offers an imaginative new way of understanding the relationship between syntax and metre in Old English verse. It challenges the view that Old English poetry is composed in loose syntax to compensate for the strict requirements of prosody, such as metre and alliteration. The author proposes a 'prosodical' syntax to replace the famous syntactic laws of Hans Kuhn through its greater accuracy and wider range of application. She formulates three concise rules which apply to the entire Old English poetic corpus.This book offers an imaginative new way of understanding the relationship between syntax and meter in Old English verse. It challenges the view that Old English poetry is composed in loose syntax to compensate for the strict requirements of prosody, such as meter and alliteration. The author proposes a prosodical syntax to replace the syntactic laws of Hans Kuhn through its greater accuracy and wider range of application. She formulates three concise rules that apply to the entire Old English poetic corpus.List of figures; Preface; List of abbreviations; 1. Introduction; 2. Hierarchy of verse-likeness; 3. Word classification; 4. Kuhn's Laws and prosodical syntax; 5. Attached unstressed elements; 6. Detached unstressed elements; 7. Stressed elements; 8. Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.