On the other hand, Chaucer was especially feeling for nature. "The bisy larkė, messager of day, 11. 53-62. Dryden greatly lengthens Arcite's song, in modern operatic style. In Chaucer his heart-easing snatch is of three lines: : "May, with alle thy floures and thy grene, I hope that I som grenė getė may." Would Arcite be likely to indulge in a lengthy apostrophe ? Think of his character and the occasion. 1. 51. against. Toward. Cf. Milton's "Right against the eastern gate."- L'Allegro, 59. 1. 58. sultry tropic. Tropic of Cancer, which the sun nears in June, appearing to move more slowly. 1. 63. addressed. Ellipsis; supply words understood. an 11. 73-74. The two "for's" are a little awkward instance of Dryden's careless workmanship. What does the first "for" mean? = 1. 84. Friday. Freya's day. Freya Norse Venus. French, Vendredi = Venus's day. Cf 1. 88. angry Juno. the jealous Queen (92). See I., 499 and note. Imitative of Virgil's famous 1. 93. the Theban city was. fuit Ilium (Æn., II., 325). Was be. 1. 103. That side of heaven. once was; has ceased to May be astrological in signifi cance, but more probably means those deities who side with Juno and Mars. 1. 112. fries. This word, frequently used by Dryden, was not so undignified in his time as it is with us. 1. 113. my fate pursue. Hurry me toward the fate predestined for me and my race. Cf. Chaucer: "Ye slen [slay] me with youre eyen, Emelye." 11. 115-116. Dryden calmly reproduces two lines from a song by Thomas Carew. Scan 115. Note the faulty rhythm, unlike Dryden. Record accented on second syllable. Cf. II., 304. "And with that word he fell down in a traunce A long time." 1. 120. A flagrant instance of change of tense. 1. 141. knew. Recognized. In what common phrase does this meaning survive? 1. 147. The following lines recall sentiments expressed by Arcite once before. Has he a less noble character than Palamon ? 1. 152. have my faith. Take my troth. "Have heer my trouthe." - CHAUCER. 11. 160-161. Chaucer's Arcite does not swagger in any such fashion. He has more knightly courtesy, allowing that perhaps Palamon may win "And if so be that thou my lady wynne, And sle me in this woode there I am inne, Thou maist well han thy lady as for me." 1. 188. generous chillness. Noble coolness, calm self-possession. 11. 192-193. Chaucer is more suggestively simple : "Everych [each] of hem help for to armen other As friendly as he were his ownė brother." How many times before had they done this service for each other! It is a grim, yet pathetic situation. 1. 196. foin. Thrust. These details are Dryden's, as we might guess. So, too, ll. 206-209. 1. 224. jolly. Joyful. Cf. Milton's "While the jolly hours lead on propitious May." 1. 232. Diana. -Sonnet to the Nightingale. 1.235. laund. Lawn, open space or bushy plain surrounded by woods. 1. 237. forth-right. Straightway, "right away." 1. 241. underneath the sun. Chaucer's phrase: a realistic touch. Where was the sun? 1. 245. strook. Old past tense of "strike." 1. 251. Meaning? 1. 258. listed field. Field marked out and enclosed (listed) Cf. Shakespeare's for combat. "Rather than so, come fate into the list, And champion me." - Macbeth, III., i., 71. 1. 261. Is Palamon more fitly the spokesman than Arcite ? 1. 292. Ellipsis; supply words understood. 1. 309. Dryden expands in the next two paragraphs. Cf. especially Chaucer's three lines for Dryden's, 309–314 :— "The queen anon for verray wommanhede Gan for to wepe, and so dede Emelye, And alle the ladies in the compainye." Note the Drydenesque pompousness in 1. 313. 1. 318. mastership. Masterpiece. 1. 338. he freed. Who? Whom? Change of subject. 1. 340. under. Down, as in some compounds. 1. 350. Cf. Chaucer: "The god of love, a ! benedicite, How mighty and how grete a lord is he !" Again, what delightful simplicity! 1. 387. accord. Understanding, agreement. 1. 408. every sign. Twelve signs of the zodiac = a year. Chaucer says, "This day fyfty wykes." 1. 414. bars. Barriers, bounds, lists. 1. 415. recreant. Confess defeat, generally implying cowardice, as in Shakespeare's use and Scott's. 1.430. Note the peculiarity in this line the ending of a sentence in the middle of the line. This interferes with the swing and speed of the couplet. Dryden avoided this effect. Note how few the instances are. Cf. Pope's versification in his translation of the Iliad. 1. 435. Here is obviously one of the natural divisions of the story that calls for the beginning of a new book. What are the other natural divisions? 1. 445. degrees. Steps. Chaucer's word; comes through French from Latin, gradus. Cf. grade, gradually. 1. 448. Note how detailed and sumptuous the following descriptions are. Chaucer seemed to delight in the richness, the color, and magnificence of all he describes. Remember that in Chaucer's time men were emerging from the gloom and asceticism of the Middle Ages, and opening their eyes in rapture to the beauty of the world. What a childlike wonder and joy Chaucer shows! 1. 460. An altar. Chaucer adds an oratory, or small chapel an interesting combination, so suggestive as the second is of cathedrals and Christian piety. The next line is Dryden's. 1. 462. dome. Building Latin domus. So used in Pope and Goldsmith. = "The dome where pleasure holds her midnight reign. Deserted Village, 319. 1. 474. The student who has followed Chaucer's narrative will by this time detect such un-Chaucerian touches as we get in this line, in l. 476, and elsewhere in this passage. How much elaborated is Chaucer's simple |