These are the five chief distinctive marks of Shakespeare’s verse in the different periods of his dramatic work. Besides these, Fleay has pointed out some other characteristics distinctive of the first period, namely, the more sparing use of Alexandrines, of shortened verses, and of prose, and the more frequent use of doggerel verses, stanzas, sonnets, and crossed rhymes.
§ 170. There are, however, some other rhythmical characteristics that have not yet been sufficiently noticed by English or German scholars, probably because they cannot be so easily represented by means of statistics.
The caesura is of special importance. Although from the first Shakespeare always allowed himself a great degree of variety in the caesura, he prefers during his first and second period the masculine and lyrical caesura after the second foot; in his third period, in Macbeth especially, both the masculine and lyrical caesura occur as frequently after the third foot, and side by side with these the epic caesura after the second and third foot pretty often (§ [90]); during the fourth period a great many double caesuras occur corresponding to the numerous run-on lines.[161]
The old-fashioned disyllabic pronunciation of certain Romanic terminations (as -ion, -ier, -iage, -ial, &c.), so often met with in Marlowe, is not uncommon in Shakespeare, chiefly in his early plays, but also in those of later date (cf. § [107]).
As to inversion of rhythm (cf. § [88]), it is a noteworthy feature that during the first period it occurs chiefly in the first foot and afterwards often in the third also.
Disyllabic theses may be found in each of the five feet, sometimes even two at the same time:
Having Gód, her cónscience, | ánd these bárs agaínst me.
R. III, I. ii. 235.
Succéeding his fáther Bólingbróke, | did réign.