I asked a Thief

[sitifan]

I askèd a thief to steal me a peach: He turnèd up his eyes. I ask'd a lithe lady to lie her down: Holy and meek, she cries.
Source: http://93beast.fea.st.user.fm/files/section2/blake/extras/Poems from Rossetti One.pdf

In the above quotation, both "askèd" and " turnèd" should be read as having two syllables, shouldn't they?

 

[jutfrank]

Yes.

 

[Tarheel]

How would I do that?

 

[emsr2d2]

How would I do that?

How would you do what?

 

[Rover_KE]

How would I do that?

You'd read it in two syllables - as in my learn-ed friend and the actor Brian Bless-ed.

 

[Tarheel]

You'd read it in two syllables - as in my learn-ed friend and the actor Brian Bless-ed.

Those make sense. However, I can't see myself using "asked" with two syllables.

 

[emsr2d2]

Those make sense. However, I can't see myself using "asked" with two syllables.

No one's suggesting that the two-syllable pronunciation should be used in standard everyday English. However, if one were reading aloud the Rosetti poem shown in post #1, it would be entirely correct to give those words two syllables. That's why the accents are there over the two "e"s.

 

[Annabel Lee]

No one's suggesting that the two-syllable pronunciation should be used in standard everyday English. However, if one were reading aloud the Rosetti poem shown in post #1, it would be entirely correct to give those words two syllables. That's why the accents are there over the two "e"s.

From what I can tell, the poem was actually written by William Blake; he penned it in a manuscript associated with Dante Gabriel Rossetti. In Blake's handwritten version, the accent marks do not appear. I think that, allowing for standard metrical variations, the stanza works well as ballad meter even without the accent on the "-ed" in "asked," though I think it does need the accent on the "-ed" in "turned."

i ASKED / a THIEF / to STEAL / me a PEACH
he TUR / ned UP / his EYES
i ASKED / a lithe LA / dy to LIE / her DOWN
HO ly / and MEEK / she CRIES

 

[emsr2d2]

In my opinion, the first line scans better with "ask-ed" because it gives the two halves five syllables each:

I ask-ed a thief ... to steal me a peach

 

[Annabel Lee]

In my opinion, the first line scans better with "ask-ed" because it gives the two halves five syllables each:

I ask-ed a thief ... to steal me a peach

I wonder if Using English might consider opening a subforum devoted to the scansion of poetry. To my knowledge, no such forum exists anywhere. If I were a computer whiz, I might open one myself. It could be a lot of fun -- perhaps not for the majority, but at least for a few. I wouldn't be surprised if scanning lines of poetry were more popular than diagramming sentences! (There is already a subforum here for that, of course.) It could be something to consider.

 

[jutfrank]

Well, there are quite a few poetry lovers among us, myself included, so that sounds like a good idea to me.