β. Hue lóued so lécherìe 35,
And Phílip þe férse kìng 276.
γ. Stónes stírred þei þò 293,
Þe fólke too fáre with hìm 158.
The examples under (a) show the tendency noticeable already in the first hemistich of the Old English alliterative line to admit anacrusis. The examples under (b) and (c) may be looked upon as extended forms of types E and D.
§ 56. Several poems of somewhat later date deviate more frequently from these types than the Alisaunder fragments, chiefly in the following points:
The end of the hemistich sometimes consists of an accented syllable instead of an unaccented one; the thesis is sometimes monosyllabic instead of polysyllabic, especially in A, or the anacrusis may be polysyllabic instead of monosyllabic. Secondary accents are introduced more frequently into the second hemistich also, but by poets whose technique is careful they are admitted only between the two accented syllables. Owing to these licences, and to the introduction of polysyllabic theses, the rhythm of the verse sometimes becomes very heavy.
Belonging to this group are William of Palerne, Joseph of Arimathie, both belonging to the middle of the fourteenth century, the three editions of William Langland’s Vision concerning Piers Plowman, of somewhat later date, and a few minor poems. The Romance of the Chevelere Assigne, written in the East Midland district, at the end of the fourteenth century, and the works of the Gawain-poet, viz. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Cleanness, Patience, and the Legend of St. Erkenwald (Horstmann, Altengl. Legenden, 1881, p. 265), form the transition to another group of poems belonging to the North of England, but differing somewhat from the preceding with regard to their metre.
The most important amongst these is Langland’s great work, but it is at the same time most unequal in respect to its versification. In many passages, especially in the beginning of the several Passus, as they are called, the flow of the verses is very regular; in other passages the theses are frequently of such great length, and the arsis stands out so indistinctly, that the rhythm of the verse can only be made out with difficulty. Some examples taken from the B-text (c. 1377) may serve to illustrate this:
Extended second hemistich (Type A):