Editing Musophilus (section)

==Versification==

The poem is introduced by a dedicatory [[Spenserian sonnet]]: 14 lines of [[iambic pentameter]] rhyming '''ABAB BCBC CDCD EE'''.{{efn|These notes pertain to the text of the first edition of 1599. The texts of the 1601 and 1623 editions are identical in verse structure, except for the deletion of the final 3 ('''ABABAB''') stanzas. The texts of 1607 and 1611 are significantly shorter. The edition of 1611 replaces the dedicatory sonnet with a 36-line iambic pentameter poem in 2 verse paragraphs: the first comprising 6 quatrains and 1 closing couplet; the second comprising 2 quatrains and 1 closing couplet. All quatrains rime '''ABAB''' except the 4th, which rimes '''ABBA'''.}}

The poem proper is written entirely in iambic pentameter with rimes forming a variety of stanzas. 118 stanzas (over 2/3 of the poem) are 6-line stanzas riming '''ABABAB'''. Interspersed with these are 14 [[ottava rima]] stanzas riming '''ABABABCC''', 4 ''[[Venus and Adonis (Shakespeare poem)|Venus and Adonis]]'' stanzas riming '''ABABCC''', and a single heroic quatrain riming '''ABAB'''. These rime schemes might be thought of as the first 4, first 6, last 6, and all 8 lines of an ottava rima stanza.

Finally, lines 727-880{{efn|In Hiller & Groves's numbering system;{{sfn|Hiller|Groves|1998|pp=139-145}} other editions number differently.}} form an unbroken series of 51 [[tercet]]s of [[terza rima]] (riming '''ABA BCB CDC'''...) with 1 final line to complete the central rime of the final tercet (...'''YZY Z'''). Even this quite different structure can be seen as corresponding with the other stanzas: if conceptualized as 6-line stanzas (as modern editions do), the resulting rime scheme '''ABABCB''' is only 1 rime removed from the main stanza of the poem, the interloping '''C''' providing the rime that links to the next stanza.

The relations of these rime schemes are tabulated below as Philocosmus (Musophilus's skeptical interlocutor) begins their dialogue by challenging him as to the practical value of poetry.
<blockquote>
{|
! ''Musophilus'', first stanza (ottava rima){{sfn|Hiller|Groves|1998|p=112}} || OR{{pad|1em}} || SIX{{pad|1em}} || TR×2{{pad|1em}} || HQ{{pad|1em}} || V&A{{pad|1em}}
|-
| Fond man, Musophilus, that thus dost spend || '''A''' || '''A''' || '''A''' || '''A''' || 
|-
| In an ungainful art thy dearest days, || '''B''' || '''B''' || '''B''' || '''B''' || 
|-
| Tiring thy wits and toiling to no end || '''A''' || '''A''' || '''A''' || '''A''' ||  '''A'''
|-
| But to attain that idle smoke of praise, || '''B''' || '''B''' || '''B''' || '''B''' || '''B'''
|-
| Now, when this busy world cannot attend || '''A''' || '''A''' || '''C''' || || '''A'''
|-
| Th' untimely music of neglected lays; || '''B''' || '''B''' || '''B''' || || '''B'''
|-
| Other delights than these, other desires || '''C''' || || || || '''C'''
|-
| This wiser profit-seeking age requires. || '''C''' || || || || '''C'''
|}
</blockquote>