Musicke a Sister to Poetrie: Rhetorical Artifice in the Passionate Airs of John Dowland

Author(s): Robert Toft

Source: Early Music, Vol. 12, No. 2 (May, 1984), pp. 190-197+199
Published by: Oxford University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3137733
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Robert Toft

Musicke a sister to Poetrie

Rhetorical artifice in the passionate airs of John Dowland

Henry Peacham the Younger, in The Compleat Gentle- the passionate air as a prosopopoeia not only establishes
the rhetorical basis of this genre but also hints at the
man (1622), begins the section devoted to the place of
music in a gentleman's life with the words 'Musickepersuasive
a or affective performance style required by
sister to Poetrie'.' The prominent position afforded
the singer. In rhetoric, prosopopoeia involves 'a
these words reaffirms the link between rhetoric andpersonification in which the inner thoughts and
music which was in Europe by this time at least twofeelings of a fictitious or absent person are presented
centuries old.2 Peacham is not content merely in tosuch a convincing fashion that the audience is
mention superficial similarities, however, and in the
made to believe that that person is present in the
course of his discussion of music, he states precisely
person of the orator'.7 It forms part of a larger group of
what some of the connections between poetry figures,and known generically as hypotyposis, which are
music are: directed towards lively description or counterfeit
Yea, in my opinion, no Rhetoricke more perswadeth, representation.
or hath In the case of prosopopoeia, the
greater power over the mind; nay, hath not Musicke performer
her feigns the affections of the imaginary
figures, the same which Rhetorique? What is a Revert person
but her
in the text, bringing forth the ruling passion of
Antistrophe? her reports, but sweet Anaphora's? her counter-
that person. The singer in his musical oration must,
change of points, Antimetabole's? her passionate Aires
then,but
arouse the passions of the listener through his
Prosopopoea's? with infinite other of the same nature.3
manner of performance. In order to do this, he must
Earlier, in a roster of English composers 'inferior
firstto
understand the text and its music in the same way
that Elizabethan
none in the world..,. for depth of skill and richnesse of schoolboys were taught to understand
conceipt', Peacham places 'Master Doctor Douland' poetry,atorations etc; that is, he must learn to recognize
the head of the list.4 Just what it was about this 'every trope, every figure, aswell of words as of
'richnesse of conceipt' that made the music of
sentences; but also the Rhetoricall pronounciation
Dowland and the others notable is explained and
in gesture fit for every word, sentence, and affection'.8
Peacham's remarks concerning his master Orazio
Having achieved this, the singer is then in a position to
Vecchi, who was the'most pleasing of all other for his
generate in the listener those passions that are present
conceipt and varietie, wherewith all his workes are
in the text. Indeed, this was one of the common goals
singularly beautified'. Peacham cites three of Vecchi's
of education in the language arts. John Brinsley states
works in support of this statement. Vivo in fuoco
that boys should learn to express the affections of
amoroso, Lucreta mia contains a passage in whichthose the whose speech they are to imitate.9 But as
words 'Io catenato moro' are set by Vecchi inThomas the Wright points out, 'it is almost impossible for
following manner: 'with excellent judgement,anhee oratour to stirre up a passion in his auditors, except
driveth a Crotchet thorough many Minims, causing he beitfirst affected with the same passion himselfe'.'0
to resemble a chaine with the Linkes'. Similar devices To gain experience in imitating the passions, Wright
are employed in S'io potessi raccor'i mei sospiri, in which
suggests that the orator observe men 'appasionat'
the word 'sospiri' is broken with'Crotchet & Crotchet,taking note of 'how they demeane themselves in
rest into sighes'; and in Fa mi un canzone, the music is passions, and observe what and how they speake in
intended 'To make one sleepe at noone'.5 mirth, sadnesse, ire, feare, hope, &c. what motions are
There is little doubt that Peacham's equation of
stirring in the eyes, hands, bodie, &c'."
rhetorical terms with musical procedures and his The figures of rhetoric-and by extrapolation those
examples of the type of conceits employed by Vecchi
in music-were, however, considered to be important
are representative of the pervasive influence that tools for inflaming the mind of the listener as no orator
rhetorical thought had on the sister arts of poetry and
could 'by the waight of his wordes, perswade his
music during the Renaissance.6 His direct reference to
hearers, having no helpe of them [i.e. the figures]'.12

EARL' MUSIC MAY 1984 191

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1 Title-page of John Dowland, The Second Booke of Songs or Ayres (London, 1600) (London, British Library)

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With figures 'the Oratour may leade his hearers which
way he list, and draw them to what affection he will'. '3
Anyone who had received a typical grammar-school
education in Elizabethan England would have been
highly skilled in recognizing rhetorical devices, and a
knowledge of the figures was particularly valued as an
aid in reading and writing poetry. '4 Quintilian defined
the term figure as a form of speech artfully varied from
common usage,'5 and George Puttenham maintained
that the'figure it selfe is a certaine lively or good grace
set iipon wordes, speaches and sentences'.'6 Figurative
speech, then, lifted the language from 'the ordinarie
habite and manner of our dayly talke and writing' to
that which was more lofty in style. Analogously,
figures were employed in music to grace a text and to
elevate it from the ordinary to the sublime in order to
enhance its style and thus its persuasiveness.'8
Passionate airs, or prosopopoeias as Peacham desig-
nated them, represent some of the loftiest and most
affective musical orations of the Elizabethan age. It
was the prosopopoeia that schoolboys were encouraged
to study when practising the imitation of affections, ',
and these texts demanded a passionate manner of
declamation using both voice and gesture to underline
mee dwell.26 The poems of each are given below,
together with the words as set by Dowland.
Sorrow sorrow stay
[Sorrow stay, lend true repentant teares,
To a woefull wretched wight,
Hence, dispaire with thy tormenting feares:
O doe not my poore heart affright,
Pitty, help now or never,
Mark me not to endlesse paine,
Alas I am condempned ever,
No hope, no help, ther doth remaine,
But downe, down, down, down I fall,
Downe and arise I never shall.]
Sorrow sorrow stay, lend true repentant teares,
To a woefull, woefull wretched wight,
Hence, hence dispaire with thy tormenting feares:
Doe not, O doe not my heart, poore heart affright,
Pitty, pitty, pitty, pitty, pitty, pitty,
Help now or never,
Mark me not to endlesse paine,
Mark me not to endlesse paine,
Alas I am condempned,
Alas I am condempned, I am condempned ever,
No hope, no help, ther doth remaine,
But downe, down, down, down I fall,

the meaning of each figure.20 The importance of this But downe, down, down, down I fall,
Downe and arise,
approach for singers was stated in 1600 by Emilio de'
Downe and arise, I never shall.
Cavalieri:
In darknesse let mee dwell
Let the singer have a beautiful voice with good intonation,
and well supported, and let him sing with expression, softIn darknesse let me dwell, the ground shall sorrow be,
and loud, and without passagework and in particular The he roofe despaire to barre all chearefull light from me,
should express the words well, so that they may be The walles of marble black that moistned stil shall weepe,
understood, and accompany them with gestures and My musicke hellish jarring sounds to banish frendly sleepe.
movements, not only of the hands but of other gestures that Thus wedded to my woes, and bedded in my tombe,
are efficacious aids in moving the affections.2' O let me dying live till death doth come.
In darknesse let mee dwell, The ground, the ground, shall
One year later, the preface to Philip Rosseter's A Booke sorrow, sorrow be,
ofAyres cautions against the amateurish use of gestureThe roofe Dispaire to barre all, all cheerfull light from mee,
to help portray the meaning of the words, suggestingThe wals of marble blacke that moistned, that moistned still
in its place 'a manly cariage, gracing no word, but that shall weepe, still shall weepe,
which is eminent, and emphaticall'.22 Thus, the My musicke, My musicke hellish, hellish jarring sounds,
performer had to ensure that the enargia and energia23 jarring, jarring sounds to banish, banish friendly sleepe.
of the text made their full impact on the listener. Thus wedded to my woes, And bedded to my Tombe,
Audiences similarly disciplined in the art of rhetoric O Let me living die, O let me living, let me living, living die,
Till death, till death doe come, Till death, till death doe
would have appreciated these matters and taken
come, till death, till death doe come,
pleasure from a presentation which, through a
In darknesse let mee dwell.
combination of intellectual prowess and vehement
delivery, was designed so that it 'moveth affections Both texts belong to the form of persuasion known a
wonderfully'.24 Hence, the passionate air was imbued pathos, the purpose of which is to arouse certain
states of mind in the listener by appealing to the
with rhetorical artifice. Nowhere is this more apparent
than in the airs by John Dowland that are the subjectemotions that colour the judgement. The generic
of this study: Sorrow sorrow stay25 and In darknesse name
let for figures whose function is the stirring of the

192 EARLY MUSIC MAY 1984

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 r, ~'.UiC(:Jlt?ilr~~?n!i(lr~?nmmr~R~arr,
affections is pathopoeia. Henry Peacham the Elder ~ll;lnlll/Ol~l(L1~Lh;t I
1
/ ~,;.-.-.-L ~i-? I
~.?

discusses this figure: ~t~~r?--"

r~5Yu:
I f I'
J, rr'
:J

Pathopeia, is a forme of speech by which the Orator moveth :: ..u:?i

?
ii( .ei % ?: /j
the minds of his hearers to some vehemency of affection, as ? I; t~ci 2.
I'i?,
;*( .. r~W ?~:' i.:
,c--'7~gi?s~~C

of indignation feare, envy, hatred, hope, gladnesse, mirth, al t

I~?--.? ?i ;
laughter, sadnesse or sorrow: of this there be two kindes. ~ir r~
~r ct

'11
FY"~~t~t~
The first is when the Orator being moved himselfe with _;;_L~=i~__=5_tT1
_i.l.. .-~:~ - I'!

,~?l--Y1~-"P~Snrr~raaulr

anie of these affections (sorrow excepted) doth bend & apply i rr~hm~rsrrrrr
-~D"c' ~"~""""""~~~"~I-"'""~ '~Rlb~f:i

his speech to stir his hearers to the same: and this kind is
called Imagination... 'ijillliilil.l
.1
~jji /j:;;il ::ll::j! i.. I ??-'~...?.1.? ...----.
The other kind of Pathopeia, is when the Orator by ?
C'It:-liti;j
'"' ""'"''
"""'

declaring some lamentable cause, moveth his hearers to OnICUS ?-

pitie and compassion, to shew mercy, and to pardon ?-? ?-iiiid

.-i~:.i?
I: ......

offences... A serious and deepe affection in the Orator is a

c ?????-
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" .~
mighty furtherance and helpe to this figure, as when he is 2~. f-' ) F "'
1? :1::?~ I,
zealous, and deeply touched himselfe with any of those E
i
'E
? I: 1;Clb~ '"`
i,: ~Z
vehement affections, but specially if he be inwardly moved ~Fa
::I

with a pitifull affection, he moveth his hearers to the same

1? r~
I. r?~ :::
I '
L?, ,,
O r??r,
i, jiiii.
compassion and pitie, by his passionate pronountiation... 3
;ii;i

The figure pertaineth properly to move affections, which ,e ?: tS

?:-?

is a principal and singular vertue of eloquution.27

a ih:
r "r:?
fi c?`\
;-

In order to further the persuasive quality of the L

I, E
~ E ~~ h
vehement affections expressed in the texts of the two

r;a t i~", F
? i
.s
~C' ~i~'

songs, Dowland amplifies the basic structure of the ,? r,.l

i i
poetry by creating figures not present in the poems. ri .Y

For the most part, the amplifications involve re-

iterations of words or phrases which emphasize the ?1 i ~ ? ~:? ? r
importance of the repeated material. Puttenham
? ?: : : %' a
1~ jI
explains why poets and orators employed these i i`ii

devices: 'the repetition of one word or clause doth jl r~x. ~f~:: S 4

? -r RP~;I: I U ~i? ~bs~s~
-?t? .4
? U .i
much alter and affect the eare and also the mynde of ~TP;;S'4~:?t~Ene'r. ``
.IL -
the hearer, and therefore is counted a very brave figure 2 Orators employing 'naturall gestures
both with the Poets and rhetoriciens'.28 Dowland's frontispiece engraving to John Bulwer, C
Manuall
frequent use of epizeuxis, the immediate restatement of Rhetorique (London, 1644) (Cambr

a word or phrase for greater vehemency,29 embodies a

compositional decision to stress and thus elicit in the
anadiplosis, that is, when the last
listener the state of mind associated with that word or
becomes the first word of the ne
phrase.
The roofe Dispaire to barre all cheer
Various passages in both texts exemplify the
The wals of marble blacke that mois
procedure. At the very opening of Sorrow sorrow stay,
become
the repetition of the word 'sorrow' draws attention to
and establishes the character of the ruling passion. The roofe Dispaire to barre all, all cheerfull light from mee
The wals of marble blacke that moistned, that moistned still
Later, the reiteration of 'pitty' reinforces this state of
mind and categorizes the poem as Peacham the Elder's shall weepe, still shall weepe.
In connection with this figure, John Hoskins com-
second type of pathopoeia. Similarly, the restatements
of 'mark me not to endlesse paine', 'alas I am ments: 'in speech there is no repetition without
condempned', 'but downe, down, down, down importance'."32
I fall' The device used by Dowland to end the
and 'downe and arise' emphasize the significancesongofis known as epanalepsis: a unit that begins and
ends with the same expression. The words 'In
these phrases. Dowland's amplification of In darknesse
darknesse
let me dwell involves, in addition to the pervasive use of let mee dwell' open and close the song, and
Peacham the Elder clarifies the intent of this figure:
epizeuxis, two other figures of repetition. Through

EARLY MUSIC MAY 1984 193

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'place a word of importance in the beginning of a Ex.2 Dowl
sentence to be considered, and in the end to be
remembered'.33 a las I am con-dempned,

This discussion of the amplificatory devices in the

two texts assumes that Dowland adapted pre-existing
poems. But since the authorship of these poems is
unknown,34 the possibility arises that Dowland may
!4
a - l as I am con-dempne - dem
have penned these verses himself with the figures of
repetition forming part of his original conception. This
is unlikely, however, in the case of In darknesse let mee
dwell. The same poem with a few minor variants was a - las I am con - dempned,

set to music four years earlier by John Coprario (see

n.26) and this might have been Dowland's source for
the text. Interestingly enough, the complete poem,
stripped of the few textual devices added by Coprario
in his setting, is printed below the music. The
inclusion of the unembellished text clearly demon-
Ex.3 Dowland, Sorrow sorrow stay
strates how both Coprario and Dowland used epizeuxis
to expand the basic structure of the poem. Further-
more, Dowland employed this figure in setting poetry (re-) maine, but downe, down, down, down I fall,
by Fulke Greville and Thomas Campion. Greville's Who
ever thinks or hopes of love35 and Campion's I must
complaine36 are ornamented by epizeuxis in order to
increase the persuasiveness of certain phrases. Al-
though no undecorated model of Sorrow sorrow stay is
known to exist, it is probably safe to assume that
Dowland's text represents a version amplified by
but downe, down, down, down I fall, downe,
rhetorical devices. Indeed, the expansion of a basic
text seems to have been a procedure commonly
employed by Dowland, as over half of his solo songs
augment the vehemency of persuasion through figures
of repetition.
Dowland heightened the passionate appeal of these
amplifications by introducing various musical figures Ex.4 Dowland, In darknesse let mee dwell, A
(1610)
to parallel a number of the poetic devices. Throughout
the entire corpus of his extant songs, figures of
melodic repetition frequently coincide with textual Till death, till death doe come,

repetition, and palillogia, synonymia and climax37 are

clearly favoured by Dowland for setting textual epizeuxis.

Ex.l John Dowland, Sorrow sorrow stay, The Second Booke of

Songs (1600)

!A I. i -
mark me not to end-lesse_ paine, mark me not to end-lesse paine, till death, till death doe come, till death,

(lute) r
r
Iz t t , l g t

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Ex.5 Dowland, Sorrow sorrow stay Ex.7 Dowland, Sorrow sorrow stay

downe and a - rise, downe and a - rise pit - ty,,pit-ty, pit- ty, pit - ty, pit-ty,

Ex.8 Dowland, Cease these false sports, A Pilgri

old, rise to the sun, rise to the sun, rise to the sun, to the

'0 .. . . . t i

Ex.6 Dowland. In darknesse let mee dwell

o Let me liv - ing die, of the reiteration of the word 'pitty' exemplifies this
procedure (ex.7). This musical figure when extended
beyond one restatement produces gradatio, the se-
quential use of climax. Dowland employed this figure
most persuasively in Cease these false sports,"9 creating
the musical equivalent to the rhetorical gradatio or
ladder form? (ex.8).
Occasionally, the musical figures are combined to
generate a web of devices that pervades the entire
O let me liv-ing,,let me
texture. The passage'but downe, down, down, down I
fall' in Sorrow sorrow stay (ex.3) not only incorporates
' At textual epizeuxis and musical palillogia but also assim-
ilates the musical figures catabasis and articulus. The
descending lines in both the voice and lute parts with
their literal reflection of the text embody the figure
Palillogia, the repetition of a catabasis.
melodic Contained in these descending
fragment at the lines, more-
same pitch, occurs in both Sorrow sorrow
over, is the staybyand
figure described PeachamIn the Elder as
darknesse let mee dwell for the articulus.41
immediate reiteration
Peacham ofthat
equates articulus, a is, single
words separated
short phrase of the text (exx. 1-4). This figureby commas delivered
serves to slowly and
add weight to the idea expressed infor
deliberately the text
the sake and and
of emphasis to vehemence,
emphasize its meaning. At other with the semibreve.
times, The slow, deliberate
Dowland sets descent by
the restatement of short phrasesminimsand in Dowland's
single song is analogous
words byto Peacham's
means of synonymia, the repetition
comparison as the of a melodic
semibreve, and by extension the
fragment at a different pitch minim level (exx.5-6).
in grave tempos, The
are by their very nature
'deliberate,
rhetorical connotations of this term help with each
tonote accented, detached and
illuminate
the musical function of this figure. In the
clearly articulated'.42 language
In general, the punctuation of the
text was
arts, synonymia specifies a figure regarded as to
designed an important
make the factor for the
sense of the text stronger and articulation
moreofobvious
rhetorical delivery:
by using
words which differ from the preceding onesit in
To come to Rhetoricke, form
not onely or a schollar to
emboldens
sound but which mean the same.38 Climax, the repetition
speake, but instructs him to speake well, and with judgement
of a melodic idea one step higher, increases
to observe his comma's, the
colons, & full poynts, his paren-
vehemence of the affection and Dowland's treatment theses, his breathing spaces, and distinctions.43

EARLY MUSIC MAY 1984 195

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Ex.9 Dowland, Mourne, mourne, day is with darknesse fled. The Ex.12 Dowland, In darknesse let mee dwell
Second Booke of Songs

Mourne, mourne, day is with dark - nesse fled, Thus wed - ded to my woes,

_ -_T_ ,.-

A partic
particularly af
opening ships
of Dow
music
darknesse fled44
passio
reiteration of '
emphaticmusic
delivery
is set in rhetor
oppositio
of the punge
following
riety fault.4
through the
The rhetorical
and gr
more than control much of the melodic structure, stark
however; it influences the character of the concentus, unison
that is, the vertical combination of notes sounding the an
together. Throughout both songs, musical figures unpre
involving dissonant elements help to establish the conson
ruling passion and to enhance the impact of the text. In lepsis.

Ex. 10 Dowland, Sorrow sorrow stay Ex.13 Dowland. In darknesse let mee dwell

dis - paire with thy tor - men - ting feares: hell- ish, hell - ish jar - ring sounds

, I c
Ex.l 1 Dowland. In darknesse let mee dwell
This is the generic ter
theorists to designate ch
still shall weepe, still shall weepe, stir the affections, and it underlines the terror of
'hellish jarring sounds' in Dowland's In darknesseletmee
dwell (ex.13).
i - Other devices serve to intensify the rhetorical
."e "[ ' persuasion in different ways. Mutatio toni, an abrupt
change in concentus for expressive purposes, prepares
for the literal descent in Sorrow sorrow stay (ex.3), and
the sudden outburst of exclamation (ex. 14a), which is
reserved for those sentiments of the highest emotional
significance, may have been delivered in the manner
described by Giulio Caccini for the esclamazione piu
viva, using 'a certain strengthening of the relaxed
voice'46 (ex.14b). Caccini's method of performing
esclamazioni is to begin with a decrescendo, thus

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Ex.14 (a) Dowland, In darknesse let mee dwell; (b) Giulio Caccini, Cor
mio, deh non languire, Le nuove musiche (1602)
[a) [b) esclamazione
piu viva

O Let e Ime deh non lan- (guire)

I N.kl

achieving the 'relaxed voice', and to follow this with a

crescendo. He maintains that this device is the most
basic means of moving the affections and elsewhere
equates musical ornaments to 'the figures of speech
and the rhetorical flourishes in such eloquence'.47 / !1
Dowland increases the artificiality of the passage in
ex.14a by employing anastrophe to change the word
order from 'O let me dying live' to 'O let me living die',
thereby accentuating the underlying torment of the
text. 48
One final device remains to be discussed. In rhetorical

delivery, the orator's emotional state can be most

vehemently demonstrated through a speech that is
terminated without a word of explanation, as when the
orator's sorrow is too great for him to continue.49
Dowland brilliantly constructs In darknesse let mee dwell
to produce this effect (ex.15). Textual and musical
epanalepsis closes the song and the melody fashioned
by Dowland for this purpose ends unexpectedly with a
remarkably short resolution of the prolonged syncope.50
3 'Alphabet of Action, or
graving from Bulwer, Chi
This hasty abandonment of the last note of the song
Library)
creates the musical counterpart of aposiopesis, the
rhetorical figure denoting abrupt terminations."5' material to serve the composer's purpose.52 Dowland's
The amplification and embellishment of both the skilful handling of the techniques of elocutio to effect
poetry and the music with figures belong to the branch an imitation of man's actions and passions demon-
strates his mastery of affective persuasion.
of rhetoric known as elocutio or decoratio. Traditionally,
The discussion of this music through rhetorical
this step in the construction of a rhetorically con-
ceived composition followed inventio, the finding concepts
of and terminology-the precepts most relevant
to the vocal music of this period-may help modern
the subject matter, which in the case of vocal music
involved the selection or writing of a text and musicians
the not accustomed to the principles of rhetoric
invention of musical ideas suitable to the words in that to acquire the necessary tools for identifying the
significance of musical procedures that they might
text; and dispositio, the ordering or arranging of this
Ex.15 Dowland. In darknesse let mee dwell otherwise pass over without recognizing their im-
portance. A knowledge of the rhetorical basis for many

.n J. - " " ! ... * ,

In dark - nesse let. mee dwell.
of the compositional devices in the passionate air
reveals another facet of this genre and provides
resources to enable performers and scholars to ap-

$ ~ o /r **A J
." proach the music on its own terms.
'(London, 1622), p.96; (London, 2/1634), ed. G. S. Gordon as
Peachams Compleat Gentleman (Oxford, 1906). The entire section on

EARLY MUSIC MAY 1984 197

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music from the 1634 edition is found in O. Strunk, Source Readings in
Music History (New York, 1950), pp.331-7.
2johannes Nucius in his Musices poeticae (Neisse, 1613), f.A4r
names Dunstable as one of the first rhetorically expressive composers
(see G. J. Buelow,'Rhetoric and Music', TheNew Grove, xv, p.793). The
rhetorical implications of two works by Dufay are discussed in W.
Elders, 'Guillaume Dufay as Musical Orator, Tijdschrift van de
Vereniging voor Nederlandse Muziekgeschiedenis, xxxi (1981), pp.1-15.
3Peacham the Younger, op cit, p.103. See G. G. Butler, 'Music and
Rhetoric in Early Seventeenth-Century English Sources', MQ, lxvi
(1980), pp.53-64, for a discussion of these and other figures treated
by English rhetoricians.
4Peacham the Younger, op cit, p. 103. The list also includes Morley,
Alphonso Ferrabosco, Wilbye, Kirbye, Weelkes, Michael East,
Bateson and Deering.
SIbid, p.102. Peacham's source for these three works is discussed in
S. Hankey, 'The Compleat Gentleman's Music', M&L, lxii (1981),
p.150.
6For a discussion of the influence that rhetorical thought had on
poetry, painting and music in the 15th, 16th and early 17th centuries,
see G. G. Lecoat, Music and the Rhetoric of the Arts during the Age of
Monteverdi (PhD diss., U. of Washington, 1973). The rhetorical basis
of Elizabethan acting has been treated in B. L. Joseph, Elizabethan
Acting (London, 1951) and the theory of rhetoric known during the
Elizabethan age has been synthesized in Sister M. Joseph, Rhetoric in
Shakespeare's Time (New York, 1962).
7Butler, op cit, pp.59-60
8W. Kempe, The Education of Children in Learning (London, 1588),
f.G3r. On the difference between tropes, figures of words and figures
of sentences, see Sister Joseph, op cit, p.33. Rhetorical pronunciation
is discussed in B. L. Joseph, op cit, pp.60-82.
9Ludus literarius: or The Grammar Schoole (London, 1612), p.213. A
lengthy treatment of English grammar-school education in the 16th
century appears in T. W. Baldwin, William Shakespeare's Small Latine
and Lesse Greeke, 2 vols. (Urbana, Ill., 1944). A brief summary of the
information is contained in Sister Joseph, op cit, pp.8-13.
loThe Passions of the Minde in Generall (London, 1604), p. 172
"lIbid, p.179
IEH. Peacham the Elder, The Garden of Eloquence (London, 1577),
f.A3r
13Ibid
14Sister Joseph, op cit, p.10
I5lnstitutio oratoria, IX.i.1l-14; Eng. trans. H. E. Butler, 4 vols.
(London and New York, 1920), iii, pp.353-5
16TheArte ofEnglish Poesie (London, 1589), p.133; ed. G. D. Willcock
and A. Walker (Cambridge, 1936)
17Puttenham, op cit, p.132
8See the above quote from Peacham the Younger, 'hath not
Musicke her figures, the same which Rhetorique?' and Peacham the
Elder's comparison of the colours of elocution, that is, the figures of
grammar and rhetoric, to 'flowers of sundry coullors, a gallant
Garland: such as garnish it, as precious pearles, a gorgious Garment:
suche as delight the eares, as pleasant reports, repetions, and
running poyntes in Musick' (op cit, f.A3r).
19Brinsley, op cit, p.213
2oSee B. L. Joseph, op cit, pp.60-82 passim. Thomas Wilson, in his
The Arte ofRhetorique (London, 1553), defined gesture as 'a certaine
comely moderacion of the countenaunce, and al other partes of
mans body, aptely agreeyng to those thynges whiche are spoken'
(f.1 18r).
21Preface to Rappresentazione di Animca. et di Corpo (Rome, 1600/
R1967), Eng. trans. C. MacClintock, Readings in the History of Music in
Performance (Bloomington, Ind., 1979), p.183
22(London, 1601/R1970), f.A2v
23Puttenham (op cit, p. 119) defined enargia as the satisfaction and
delight of the ear by words'smothly and tunably running' and energia
as the stirring of the mind by these words.
24Peacham the Elder, op cit, f.P3v (sv 'Pathopoeia')
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25The Second Booke of Songs (London, 1600/R 1970), no.3
26A Musicall Banquet (London, 1610/R1969), no.10; the poem is
from John Coprario's Funeral Teares (London, 1606/R1970), no.4.
27Peacham the Elder, op cit (2/1593), pp.143-5
280p cit, p.165
29L. A. Sonnino, A Handbook to Sixteenth-Century Rhetoric (London,
1968), pp.174-5
3olIbid, pp.157-8
3The irregular word order of this sentence is itself the figure
anastrophe. Departures from normal word order were often intro-
duced for emphasis.
32Direccions for Speech andStyle(London, 1599); cited in Sonnino, op
cit, p.157
33Sonnino, op cit, p.163
34For further information see D. Poulton, John Dowland (London,
2/1982), pp.256-7.
3SThe First Booke of Songes (London, 1597/R1968), no.2
36The Third and Last Booke of Songs (London, 1603/R1970), no.17
37Various musica poetica theorists assign rhetorical terms to
somewhat divergent musical procedures. This article, for the most
part, will follow the classifications established by Buelow in his
article'Rhetoric and Music', The New Grove. Only when terms deviate
from the definitions given by Professor Buelow will the source be
cited.
38Sonnino, op cit, pp.116-17
39A Pilgrimes Solace (London, 1612/R1970), no.21
4oSonnino, op cit, pp.101-02
41Peacham the Elder, op cit (2/1593), p.57
42Butler, op cit, p.56. Professor Butler's lucid discussion of this
matter clarifies Peacham's somewhat obtuse comparison.
43T. Heywood, An Apology for Actors (London, 1612), f.C3v
44The Second Booke of Songs, no.5
45Anon., Rhetorica ad herennium, IV.xxxv.47-50; Eng. trans. H.
Caplan (Cambridge, Mass., 1954), pp.348-55
46Le nuove musiche (Florence, 1602); ed. H. W. Hitchcock(Madison,
Wisc., 1970), p.49. Caccini states that the esclamazione is not suitable
for semibreves but indicates the use of this ornament on a semibreve
in his performance directions for the madrigal Deh, dove son fuggiti
(see Hitchcock, ed., op cit, pp.50 and 54).
47Nuove musiche e nuova maniera di scriverle (Florence, 1614); cited
in Hitchcock, ed., op cit, p.45, n.10
48The normal word order appeared in Coprario's 1606 version (see
above, n.26). The possibility that Dowland may have reversed the
order has been suggested in Poulton, op cit, p.319, though the
rhetorical significance of this change is not commented upon there.
49Sister Joseph, op cit, p.389
5OThe extension of a dissonance is called prolongatio.
51Sonnino, op cit, pp.142-3
52G. Zarlino, in his Istituzioni armoniche (Venice, 1589), bk 3; Eng.
trans. in Strunk, op cit, pp.229-31 and 246-7, directly equates the
steps employed in writing counterpoint with those used in con-
structing poems, orations and paintings.
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