[1578] So Dy., citing O. F. ll. 40-41, "swift Euphrates." Q 1, first.
APPENDIX
Some Alleged Irregularities in the Versification of Friar Bacon
If we take the first quarto of Friar Bacon as we find it, we shall see that some of the peculiarities in verse structure are mannerisms with which every student of contemporary drama is familiar, and that others may be justified as intended for rhythmical and dramatic expressiveness. These considerations convince me that it is best to leave the versification—and consequently most of the text—as it was in 1594.
A. Accent.—1. Greene makes frequent use of the stress-syllable opening.—Sometimes for emphasis as in
ii. 49. Bów to the fórce of his pentágerón; and in vi. 28, 35, 45, 58.
Sometimes for the tripping effect, as in many of the lines assigned to Margaret, e.g. iii. 10, 13, 15, 21, 30, 31; and in lines expressive of the blithe, or the beautiful, such as i. 14, 15, 56, 60, 75, 81. Such stress-syllable openings are frequently counterbalanced by an anapæstic second or third foot; occasionally by two anapæsts, as in
vi. 58. Lácie, love mákes no excéption of a friend;
xii. 56. Híe thee to Frésingfield and bring hóme the lásse.