The Grammar of English Grammars Part 263
1. "Or where the gorgeous East, with richest hand, Show'rs on her kings _barbaric_, pearl and gold."
--_Milton, P. L._, B. ii, l. 2.
2. "Come, nymph _demure_, with mantle _blue_."
--_W. Allen's Gram._, p. 189.
3. "This truth _sublime_ his simple sire had taught."
--_Beattie's Minstrel_, p. 14.
VIII. They ascribe qualities to things to which they do not literally belong; as,
1. "The ploughman homeward plods his _weary way_."
--_Gray's Elegy_, l. 3.
2. "Or _drowsy tinklings_ lull the distant folds."
--_Ibidem_, l. 8.
3. "Imbitter'd more and more from _peevish day_ to day."
--_Thomson_.
4. "All thin and naked, to the _numb_ cold _night_."
--_Shakspeare_.
IX. They use concrete terms to express abstract qualities; (i. e., adjectives for nouns;) as,
1. "Earth's meanest son, all trembling, prostrate falls, And on the _boundless_ of thy goodness calls."
--_Young_.
2. "Meanwhile, whate'er of _beautiful_ or _new_, _Sublime_ or _dreadful_, in earth, sea, or sky, By chance or search, was offer'd to his view, He scann'd with curious and romantic eye."
--_Beattie_.
3. "Won from the void and formless _infinite_."
--_Milton_.
4. "To thy large heart give utterance due; thy heart Contains of _good, wise, just_, the perfect shape."
--_Id., P. R._, B. iii, l. 10.
X. They often subst.i.tute quality for manner; (i. e., adjectives for adverbs;) as,
1. ----"The stately-sailing swan Gives out his snowy plumage to the gale, And, arching _proud_ his neck, with oary feet, Bears forward _fierce_, and guards his osier isle."
--_Thomson_.
2. "Thither _continual_ pilgrims crowded still."
--_Id., Cos. of Ind._, i, 8.
3. "Level at beauty, and at wit; The fairest mark is _easiest_ hit."
--_Butler's Hudibras_.
XI. They form new compound epithets, oftener than do prose writers; as,
1. "In _world-rejoicing_ state, it moves sublime."
--_Thomson_.
2. "The _dewy-skirted_ clouds imbibe the sun."
--_Idem_.
3. "By brooks and groves in _hollow-whispering_ gales."
--_Idem_.
4. "The violet of _sky-woven_ vest."
--_Langhorne_.
5. "A league from Epid.a.m.num had we sail'd, Before the _always-wind-obeying_ deep Gave any tragic instance of our harm."
--_Shakspeare_.
6. "'_Blue-eyed, strange-voiced, sharp-beaked, ill-omened_ fowl, What art thou?' 'What I ought to be, an owl.'"
--_Day's Punctuation_, p. 139.
XII. They connect the comparative degree to the positive, before a verb; as,
1. "_Near and more near_ the billows rise."
--_Merrick_.
2. "_Wide and wider_ spreads the vale."
--_Dyer's Grongar Hill_.
3. "_Wide and more wide_, the overflowings of the mind Take every creature in, of every kind."
--_Pope_.
4. "_Thick and more thick_ the black blockade extends, A hundred head of Aristotle's friends."
--_Id., Dunciad_.
XIII. They form many adjectives in _y_, which are not common in prose; as, The _dimply_ flood,--_dusky_ veil,--a _gleamy_ ray,--_heapy_ harvests,--_moony_ shield,--_paly_ circlet,--_sheety_ lake,--_stilly_ lake,--_spiry_ temples,--_steely_ casque,--_steepy_ hill,--_towery_ height,--_vasty_ deep,--_writhy_ snake.
XIV. They employ adjectives of an abbreviated form: as, _dread_, for _dreadful_; _drear_, for _dreary_; _ebon_, for _ebony_; _h.o.a.r_, for _h.o.a.ry_; _lone_, for _lonely_; _scant_, for _scanty_; _slope_, for _sloping_: _submiss_, for _submissive_; _vermil_, for _vermilion_; _yon_, for _yonder_.
XV. They employ several adjectives that are not used in prose, or are used but seldom; as, _azure, blithe, boon, dank, darkling, darksome, doughty, dun, fell, rife, rapt, rueful, sear, sylvan, twain, wan._
XVI. They employ the personal p.r.o.nOUNS, and introduce their nouns afterwards; as,
1. "_It_ curl'd not Tweed alone, that _breeze_."
--_Sir W. Scott_.
2. "What may _it_ be, the heavy _sound_ That moans old Branksome's turrets round?"
--_Idem, Lay_, p. 21.
3. "Is it the lightning's quivering glance, That on the thicket streams; Or do _they_ flash on spear and lance, The sun's retiring _beams_"
--_Idem, L. of L._, vi, 15.