One of the most highly recommended textbooks on Old English is by Bruce Mitchell. Mitchell apparently has little use for poetry that falls outside the template he uses. On p. 161 of his A Guide to Old English (5th ed.), he writes:
“Accented syllables are marked with ., unaccented with x. In citing he conventions of Modern English meter we ignore so-called free verse; a game without rules is beyond systematic analysis.”
OK, Professor Mitchell.
Pat’s Polemics
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