And gave him graceful posture.’
(Coriolanus, II. i. 224–240)
The two passages are within a line of the same length, and they are as nearly as possible identical in the subject, setting, and attitude of the speaker. The earlier one contains one double ending, three unstopped lines, and one word (replication) which might possibly require explanation to modern school children. The later passage has six double endings, fourteen unstopped lines, and at least sixteen words used in strange or obsolete senses. The speech in Coriolanus also contains a typical specimen of the weak ending (sixth line from close), and it concludes in the middle of a line.
The following table gives metrical statistics for the various plays.
Works of dubious or only partial authenticity are indicated in italic. The statistics are given as counted by Fleay,[1] König,[2] and Ingram.[3]
- ↑ Trans. New Shakspere Society, 1874, p. 16, for figures in the first four columns.
- ↑ G. König, Der Vers in Shaksperes Dramen, 1888, pp. 131 ff. for the percentages in columns 5, 6, 7, and 9. It will be observed that the percentages of riming lines given by König in column 5 are in many cases materially different from those which would be obtained by using Fleay’s count of riming and blank verse lines.
- ↑ J. K. Ingram, Trans. New Shakspere Society. 1874, pp. 442 ff., for figures in column 8.
