Timber Cutter's Wife

[tomchap]

Manfred,

Don't worry about that mate, it's good to have other ideas. Even if we don't agree, it still can give a different perspective to see things from.

Now, about that line, "Years...etc"

If you read it with an obvious accent on 'have', you could be right, depending on the speaker's diction. However, if I were reciting it, I would stretch 'years' out - giving a greater sense of time having passed - then 'have passed by' would be compressed slightly to compensate. This would remove the possible problem as you stated, and also provide some relief from what otherwise could become a (boring) sing-song rhythm.

However, in spite of what I have just said, I like your further suggestion, not because of the rhythmic aspect, but because the stress then falls on 'passed', which, I think, is a more important word, in this context, than 'have'.

These discussions are very interesting, thanks Manfred. It would be even more so if we could have a face to face session, and hear what and how we say things.  Maybe next January in Tamworth?

Cheers

Tom

ps. by the way - "hunted dear"? deer, deer!  But we all do it—typos I mean, not hunt deer. And for that the spell CLHOECK is useless.