Abstract

ABSTRACT Starting from an idea proposed by Barbara C. Raw, this paper explores the distribution of Eduard Sievers’s five metrical types of verses in instances of so-called aural punctuation in Old English poetry. In aural punctuation, a lone and syntactically independent off-verse is used to mark the end of a passage and a change of subject. One finding is that verses of type A are generally disfavored as aural punctuation. Another is that there is a general correlation between the rate of incidence of aural punctuation in a poem and its probable date of composition, aural punctuation becoming less common over time.

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