earned_ (I, i), _undeserved_ (I, ii), and
_woundes_ (V, xvii) the final syllable is sounded, _patience_ (X, xxix) is
trisyllabic, _devotion_ (X, xl) is four syllables, and _entertainment_ (X,
xxxvii) is accented on the second and fourth syllables. Frequently there is
in the line a caesural pause, which may occur anywhere; e.g.--

"And quite dismembred hath; | the thirsty land
Dronke up his life; | his corse left on the strand." (III, xx.)

The rhythm of the meter is also varied by the alternating of end-stopped
and run-on lines, as in the last quotation. An end-stopped line has a pause
at the end, usually indicated by some mark of punctuation. A run-on line
should be read closely with the following line with only a slight pause to
indicate the line-unit. Monotony is prevented by the occasional use of a
light or feminine ending--a syllable on which the voice does not or cannot
rest; e.g.--

"Then choosing out few words most horrible." (I, xxxvii.)
"That for his love refused deity." (III, xxi.)
"His ship far come from watrie wilderness." (III, xxxii.)

The use of alliteration, i.e. having several words in a line beginning with
the same letter, is another device frequently employed by Spenser for
musical effect; e.g.--

"In which that wicked wight his dayes doth weare." (I, xxxvi.)
"Sweet slombring deaw, the which to sleep them biddes." (I, xxxvi.)

5. VERSIFICATION.--In the handling of his stanza, Spenser revealed a
harmony, sweetness, and color never before dreamed of in the English. Its
compass, which admitted of an almost endless variety of cadence, harmonized
well with the necessity for continuous narration. It appeals to the eye as
well as to the ear, with its now languid, now vigorous, but always graceful
turn of phrase. Its movement has been compared to the smooth, steady,
irresistible sweep of water in a mighty river. Like Lyly, Marlowe, and
Shakespeare, Spenser felt the new delight in the pictorial and musical
qualities of words, and invented new melodies and word pictures. He aimed
rather at finish, exactness, and fastidious neatness than at ease, freedom,
and irregularity; and if his versification has any fault, it is that of
monotony. The atmosphere is always perfectly adapted to the theme.

6. DICTION AND STYLE.--The peculiar diction of the _Faerie Queene_ should
receive the careful attention of the student. As a romantic poet, Spenser
often preferred archaic and semi-obsolete language to