§ 115. In a trisyllabic simple word the root-syllable, of course, has the primary accent, and of the two following syllables, that which has the fuller sound, has the secondary accent, as in áskedèst, wrítìnge, dággère, clénnèsse, híèste. If, however, the two last syllables are equally destitute of word-accent, as e.g. in clepede, lufede, they are both metrically unaccented; and, as mentioned before (cf. § [96]), may be shortened either to lufde, clepte, or to lufed, cleped. If they are used, however, as trisyllables in the iambic rhythm they naturally admit of the metrical accent on the last syllable.
It is the same with compounds of nouns or adjectives. The first syllable takes the chief accent, and of the two others that has the secondary accent which is the root-syllable of the second part of the compound, as in fréendshìpe, shírrève, but wódecràft, bóldelỳ.
In verbal compounds the primary accent, in conformity with the Old English usage, generally rests on the root-syllable of the verb, while the first and last syllable are mostly unaccented, as e.g. alihten, bisechen, forgiven, ibidden, ofþunchen. In denominatives, which in Old English have the primary accent on the first syllable, as e.g. ándswarian, both kinds of accentuation are allowed: ánswere and answére.
In disyllabic and trisyllabic compounds of nouns with certain prefixes, partly accented in Old English, as e.g. al-, un-, for-, mis-, y-, a-, bi-, the primary accent does not rest on these syllables, but on the second syllable, this being the root-syllable of the word, e.g. almíhti, forgétful, unhéele, bihéeste; the first syllable in this case bears a secondary accent if it has a determinative signification, as e.g. al-, mis-, un-, but it is unaccented if it is indifferent to the meaning, as e.g. a-, y-, bi-
§ 116. A peculiar rhythmical position is held by those words which we may call parathetic compounds.[141] To these belong certain compound nouns formed by two words of almost the same weight from a syntactical and metrical point of view, as e.g. goodman, goodwyf, longswerd, and also by similar composite particles, as e.g. elleswhere, also, into, unto. Although the regular colloquial pronunciation was probably in the Middle English period, as it is in Modern English, with the accent on the first syllable, they may be pronounced with the accent on the second syllable, or at least with level stress, as e.g. goodmán, alsó, intó, &c. To this class also belong certain compounds of adverbs with prepositions, as e.g. herein, therefore, thereof, the only difference being that the usual accent rests here on the last syllable, but may be placed also on the first, as in hereín and hérein, thereóf and théreof, &c.
§ 117. These gradations of sound in the different words regulate their rhythmical treatment in the verse. In disyllabic words as a rule the syllable with the primary accent is placed in the arsis of the verse, the other syllable, whether it be an unaccented one, or have a secondary accent, is placed in the thesis. Such words as those described in the preceding section may much more easily be used with level stress than others. In that case the rhythmical accent rests on the syllable which has the secondary accent, while the syllable which in ordinary speech has the chief accent is used as a thesis.
The ordinary as well as the abnormal use of one and the same word will be illustrated by the following example:—
O mánnkinn swá þatt ítt mannkínn. Orm. 277.
With regard to the rhythmical treatment of trisyllables two classes of such words are to be distinguished, namely, (1) those in which the syllable bearing the primary accent is followed or (rarely) preceded by a syllable bearing a secondary accent, as e.g. gódspèlles, énglìshe, and (2) those in which the syllable bearing the primary accent is preceded or followed by a syllable wholly unaccented, as e.g. bigínnen, òvercóme, crístendòm, wéathercòck. In the latter case level stress is hardly ever met with, as the natural word-accent would be interfered with to an intolerable extent by accentuations like cristéndom, weathércock, ovércome, bíginnén, fórgottén, béhavióur, &c.
Words like these therefore can in regular iambic or trochaic verse be used only with their natural accentuation, and hence those syllables which either have the primary or the secondary accent are always placed in the arsis, and the unaccented ones in the thesis, e.g.: To wínnenn únnder Crísstenndóm Orm. Ded. 137; off þátt itt wáss bigúnnenn ib. 88; Though the séas thréaten, théy are mércifúl Shakesp. Temp. V. 178; Ónly compóund me wíth forgótten dúst id. 2 Hen. IV, IV. v. 116, &c. On the other hand, when primary and secondary accent occur in two adjacent syllables level stress is very common, in Middle English, especially between the first and the second syllable, as godspélles hállȝhe láre Orm. 14, more rarely between the second and the third syllable, as þa Góddspelléss neh álle ib. 30; it also occurs in Chaucer’s poems, as For thóusandés his hóndes máden dýe Troil. v. 1816; in the same way Modern English words are treated to fit the rhythm, as e.g. mídsùmmer, faíntheàrted, in Farewéll, fáint-héarted ánd degénerate kíng Shak. 3 Hen. VI. I. i. 138; And górgeous ás the sún at mídsummér 1 Hen. IV, IV. i. 102. With the more recent poets this latter kind of rhythmical accentuation becomes the more usual of the two, although the nature and the meaning of the compound word always play an important part in such cases.