Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

The Cursus in Sir Thomas Browne

1938; Cambridge University Press; Volume: 53; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2307/458546

1938-1530

Edward L. Parker,

Linguistics and language evolution

Professor Morris W. Croll at the end of his excellent article, “The Cadence of English Oratorical Prose,” says in a note: “Sir Thomas Browne, like his master Seneca, was fond of the cadence of oratory, and a profitable study of his form might be made by one who should be capable of interpreting the subtleties of a great master in variations.” This article is an attempt to carry out Professor Croll's suggestion, an attempt already made to some extent by Norton R. Tempest in his article, “Rhythm in the Prose of Sir Thomas Browne.” Tempest confuses the reader by including many things besides the cursus forms. I propose in this paper to limit myself to the cursus forms and their English variations as pointed out by Professor Croll, and to take as my working example only the Fifth Chapter of Hydriotaphia. There, I believe, will be found practically every variation Browne used, and the condensation of the material will enable the reader to follow the discussion conveniently, with the chapter before him.