Alan,
for xxxy you give tttb as an example. I'll rephrase my questions in the light of the new understanding:
A. Are there any combinations x/y that an alliterative poet ought to shun? Maybe tttb or other cases where the x is too close to the y?
B. Are there any rules of how the xxxy may vary from line to line? May, for instance
the terrible toll of titanic bombs
be followed by
talents torn from towers dropped
?
C. Will alliterative poetry always be an n-meter. That is: If one line is alliterative pentameter, will all other lines also be alliterative pentameter? This plays back on the Edda (Håvamål) question again. I'll try to find the original.
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Svein Olav
.. another life
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