LENGTHENING OF WORDS. R preceded by a vowel lengthens pronunciation
Er final seems to have been sometimes pronounced with a kind of "burr," which produced the effect of an additional syllable; just as "Sirrah" is another and more vehement form of "Sir." Perhaps this may explain the following lines, some of which may be explained by 505-10, but not all: “Corn. We'll téach | you----Kent. Sír, | 'I'm | too óld | to léarn.” Lear, ii. 2. 135. (But? "I' am.") “Lénds the | tongue vóws; | these blá | zes dáugh | tér.” Hamlet, i. 3. 117. “And thére | upón, | gíve me | your dáugh | tér.” Hen. V. v. 2. 475. “Bru. Spread fúr | thér. |
Menen. One wó | rd (485) móre, | one wórd.” Coriol. iii. 1. 311. “Líke a | ripe sís | tér: | the wóm | an lów.” A. Y. L. iv. 3. 88. “Of óur | dear sóuls. | Meantíme, | sweet sís | tér.” T. N. v. 1. 393. “I práy | you, úncle (465), | gíve me | this dág | gér.” Rich. III. iii. 1. 110. “A bróth | er's múr | dér. | Práy can | I nót.” Hamlet, iii. 3. 38. “Fríghted | each óth | ér. | Whý should | he fóllow?” A. and C. iii. 13. 6. “And só | to árms, | victór | ious fá | thér.” 2 Hen. VI. v. 1. 211. “To céase. | Wast thóu | ordáin'd, | dear fá | thér?” Ib. v. 2. 45. “Corn. Whére hast | thou sént | the kíng? |
Glouc. To Dó | vér.” Lear, iii. 7. 51. “Will I' | first wórk. | Hé's for | his más | tér.” Cymb. i. 5. 28. “Lear. Thán the | sea-móns | tér. |
Alb. Práy, sir, | be pátient.” Lear, i. 4. 283. But perhaps "patient" may have two accents. In that case "ter" is a pause-extra syllable. In the two following lines s follows the r: “To spéak | of hór | rórs, | he cómes | befóre me.” Hamlet, ii. 1. 84. “Públius, | how nów? | How nów, | my más | térs?” T. A. iv. 3. 35; and perhaps Macbeth, iii. 4. 133. “And gíve | him hálf: | and fór | thy víg | óur.” Tr. and Cr. ii. 2. 272. “Téll me, | how fáres | our lóv | ing móth | ér?” Rich. III. v. 3. 82. “Cass. Good níght, | my lórd. |
Brut. Good níght, | good bróth | ér.” J. C. iv. 3. 237. “He whóm | my fáth | er námed? | Your E'd | gár.” Lear, ii. 1. 94. (? "ná(484) | med? Yoú | r (480) E'dgar.") “I'll fól | low yóu | and téll | what án | swér.” 3 Hen. VI. iv. 3. 55. “I have síx | ty sáil: | Cæ'sar | none bét | tér.” A. and C. iii. 7. 50. “This woód | en slá | very, thán | to súff | ér.” Temp. iii. 1. 62. Sometimes this natural burr on r influences the spelling. In Genesis and Exodus (Early English Text Society, Ed. Morris) we have "coren" for "corn," "boren" for "born." Thus the E. E. "thurh" is spelt "thorugh" by early writers, and hence even by Shakespeare in “The fálse | revólt | ing Nór | mans thó | rough thée.” 2 Hen. VI. iv. 1. 87. So M. N. D. ii. 1. 3, 5; Coriol. v. 3. 115. In the following difficult lines it may be that r introduces an extra syllable: “I'gnomy | in rán | som ánd | free pá | rdón
A're of | two hóu | ses, láw | ful mé | rcý.” M. for M. ii. 4. 111, 112. It would of course save trouble to read "ignominy," against the Folio. But compare “Thy íg | nomý (Fol.) | sleep wíth | thee ín | thy gráve.” 1 Hen. IV. v. 4. 100. “Hence, brók | er láck | ey! I'g | nomý | and sháme.” Tr. and Cr. v. 10. 33. and in T. A. iv. 2. 115 (where the Folio reads "ignominy") the i is slurred. “No mán | knows whíther. | I crý | thee mé | rcý.” Rich. III. iv. 4. 515. “It ís | my són, | young Hár | ry Pé | rcý.” Rich. II. ii. 3. 21. “Thou, Rích | ard, shált | to the dúke | of Nór | fólk.” 3 Hen. VI. i. 2. 38. So we sometimes find the old comparative "near" for the modern "nearer." “Bétter | far óff | than néar | be né'er | the néar.” Rich. II. v. 1. 88. “The néar | in blóod |
The néar | er blóody.” Macbeth, ii. 3. 146. “Nor near nor farther off . . . than this weak arm.” Rich. II. iii. 2. 64. And "far" for "farther," the old "ferror." “Fár than | Deucá | lion óff.” W. T. iv. 4. 442.
