is the first work in British Library, Cotton Nero A.x (c. 1400), which also contains

(q.v.),

(q.v.) and

(q.v.). All four poems are very probably by the same poet. Technically,

is an astounding work of art. The poem, which conatins much ornamental alliteration, is written in octosyllabic lines in loose iambic tetrameter; the lines are grouped into stanzas rhyming ababababbcbc. In their turn, the stanzas are organised into twenty sections of five stanzas each (except for section XV which contains six stanzas); all five (or six) stanzas within each section end on the same refrain word. In addition, the first line of each stanza repeats a key word from the last line of the preceding stanza (a device known as

or…

739 words

Citation: Putter, Ad. "Pearl". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 March 2001 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=13215, accessed 29 April 2024.]