Very good point! I can't help feeling that a stroll through the fen country would clear it all up, though, alas, I've never been there. Years and years ago there was a droll poetess from rural Oxfordshire on British TV (whose name I don't recall) who would have made short work of all this controversy. Another is: Come live with me and be my love And we shall all the pleasures prove. Though I suspect that we English speakers are less concerned with the length of a vowel than speakers of other languages. john
>I was wondering was how you came to the decision that it was the >last syllable of "symmetry" that had changed its pronunciation since >then, rather than the vowel on "eye"? I don't know which it was. Do you >see a couple of Olde Englishmen in a tavern poring over some diagram and >saying "there's a certain symmeTRYE about this"? > >Yes, it is interesting. There are lots of pairs of words which look from >their context as though they should rhyme, and one wonders which one has >changed since then. In the madrigal "All creatures no" there are three >such pairs: > > All creatures now are merry MINDED > The shepherds' daughters PLAYING > The nymphs are FA-LA-LA-ING > Yond bugle was well WINDED > At Oriana's presence each thing smileth > The flowers themselves DISCOVER > Birds over her do HOVER > Music the time beguileth > See where she comes with flow'ry garlands crown-ed > Queen of all queens renown-ed > Then sang the shepherds and nymphs of Diana > Long live fair Oriana! > >Last time we did this we sang winded to rhyme with minded, fa-la-laying >(much coarse laughter there from one or two lads...) and left discover >and hover to fend for themselves, after some wit had suggested discoover >and hoover. > >cheers, > >Linda
At 12:08 AM 10/28/00 +0100, you wrote: >John Alexander Blyth wrote: > ><snip (anaesthetic optional) some interesting observations> > > > >> I don't know if Blake was a Cockney, but I'm fairly sure that oye and >> symmetroy, or ei and symmetrei (or ee and symmetree) were perfectly decent >> rhymes to him. > >What John Blyth Baritono robusto e lirico Brandon, Manitoba, Canada
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