II.
Thus the róyale can remóve, | with his Róund Tábill,
Of all ríches maist ríke, | in ríall arráy.
Wes neuer fúndun on fóld, | but fénȝeing or fábill,
Ane fàyrar flóure on ane féild | of frésche men, in fáy; &c.
Lines like the four last quoted illustrate the normal structure of the rhyming-alliterative verse, especially the relationship of rhyme and alliteration to each other in monosyllabic and disyllabic words. It will be seen that the rhyming syllable, as a rule the root-syllable, or at least the accented syllable of the word, at the same time carries the fourth accent of the line, and in consequence the fourth alliterative sound. In all other respects the rhymed-alliterative verse is structurally similar to that without rhyme, and it is therefore evident that rhyme exercises no decisive influence on the rhythm of the verse. In this comparatively pure form—if we do not take into account the secondary accents occurring in the first hemistichs of the stanza in the later poem—are written the great majority of the lines in the earliest of poems mentioned above, viz. The Awntyrs off Arthure.
§ 62. The relation, however, between rhyme and alliteration and consequently the relation of the rhythmic accentuation of the words to their natural accentuation is less clear in the first stanza quoted above. The following verses rhyming together may serve to elucidate this:
Than schir Gáwyne the gáy, | gúde and gráciùs....
Jóly and géntill, | and full chéuailrús.