Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - Sidor ...
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
70
VOCABULARY
the Greek dramatists and lyrists, the Hebrew prophets, the
French medieval scribes and rhymers.
It is, of course, a necessary consequence that an
impressionable spirit like his should preserve the deepest traces
of these influences. Just as this is shown by several
peculiarities of his grammar, so also it appears from certain
parts of his vocabulary. As regards the choice of words,
we need only read the first series of Poems and Ballads»
in order to appreciate the foreign influences — influences
that may have reached the poet immediately or through the
medium of older English literature. Examples of the
former kind are given by the introductory ballads and by the
legend called The Two Dreams, while the legend of St.
Dorothy and the Masque of Queen Bersabe represent the
latter kind of foreign influence, as far as a distinction can
be made. As regards word-formation there is especially
one whole group of formations, which is at the same time
the most numerous of all, where we may follow the traces
of the influence just named. 1 refer to participles and their
combinations. In other departments it is more difficult to
establish any absolute facts, but now and then there appears
some formation of decidedly foreign colouring. Most of
these cases, however, fall under the categories of
paraphrase (as in those of Sappho), or parody (as in
Hepta-logia»).
As regards the following chapters, they are based on
the investigations by Dyboski of Tennyson’s vocabulary.
In one main point, however, they differ from these.
Dyboski seems to swallow everything indiscriminately, and
thus succeeds in placing to Tennyson’s account many
hundreds of cases, of which probably one half will be found
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
