Instances of Phonological Weight-Sensitivity in Early Middle English Poetry
Instances of Phonological Weight-Sensitivity in Early Middle English Poetry

Summary/Abstract: The present paper addresses the issue of heavy syllables and their special status in Early Middle English iambic poetry. The expected stress pattern for native vocabulary is essentially trochaic and left-strong, yet numerous non-root-initial heavy syllables appear to receive accent in literary works of the period. In old English, the language relied on syllabic quantity to a great extent, both for poetic and linguistic accentuation. The question arises whether the apparent potential of heavy syllables for attracting poetic accent in Middle English might be a remnant of old English weight sensitivity. Another issue to be addressed is the possibly different employment of heavy syllables (in ictic positions) in Early Middle English poems as opposed to later poetic works of the period.

• Details
• Contents