The Influence of Rhythmical Alliteration on the Poetry of the Alliterative Revival

FAIN: FT-13975-78

Richard H. Osberg
Unaffiliated Independent Scholar (Santa Clara, CA 95053)

Study will be undertaken of the two Middle English poetic styles, the alliterative long line of the romances and satires of the Alliterative Revival and the metrical line of Chaucer, Gower and Lydgate, and the lyrics of MS Harley 2253. A computer will be used to analyze the relationships between alliterative and metrical stress in the 32 Harley lyrics. Alliteration in non-lyric poetry will also be studied. Results of the study will show that the alliterative lyrics provided a repository of alliterative techniques from which the poets of the Alliterative Revival could borrow.