The least sensible irregularity of this kind occurs when the (syntactically) less emphatic of two consecutive monosyllabic words is placed in the arsis, as in the following lines:
For whý this ís more thén that cáuse is. Chaucer, H. of Fame, 20.
There ís a róck in thé salt flóod. Wyatt, p. 144.
Now seemeth féarful nó more thé dark cáve.ib. p. 210.
If the accented syllable of a word consisting of two or more syllables is placed in the thesis, and the unaccented one in the arsis, the licence is greater. This is a licence often met with in Middle English poetry, as e.g.:
I wílle not léyf you álle helpléss | as mén withóuten fréynd.
Towneley Myst. p. 182.
Of clóth-makýng | she hádde súch an háunt.Chaucer, Prol. 447.
With blóod likewíse | ye múst seek yóur retúrn.Surrey, p. 117.
The effect is still more harsh, if inflexional endings are used in this way, though this does not often occur. The following are examples: