The Versification of 'The Canterbury Tales': A Computer-based Statistical Study

Author / Editor
Barber, Charles,and Nicolas Barber.

Title
The Versification of 'The Canterbury Tales': A Computer-based Statistical Study

Published
Leeds Studies in English 21 (1990): 81-101.

Description
Through a computer count of the syllabic length of 15,294 verses of CT, Barber challenges J. G. Southworth's hypothesis that unstresses final "-e" was not pronounced in Chaucer's verse. The results suggest that syllabic symmetry could have been maintained only if about 27 percent of the final "-e"s were pronounced.

Contributor
Barber, Nicolas.

Chaucer Subjects
Style and Versification.