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TasmanTiger Posted 15 years ago
Grammar

Infinitive "Be"

Hi, there

I was struggling with this verb "be" :

she is not fair to outward view

as many maidens be

her loveliness I never knew

until she smiled on me

How can this infinitive "be" be explained grammatically ?

TasmanTiger
  

Top answer

Earlier forms of English used the subjunctive far more than we do. g. ].

— Anonymous

  • Earlier forms of English used the subjunctive far more than we do.
  • g.
  • ].
  • But a subjunctive should express some sort of hope or doubt and it is not easy to see why Coleridge uses 'be' here.
  • Is it because he is not speaking in general of all maidens, or was the subjunctive already fading in his day and he is slightly misusing it because he wants the rhyme?
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2 Answers
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Earlier forms of English used the subjunctive far more than we do. Read Shakespeare and you will find it everywhere [e.g. Othello says 'I think my wife be honest...]. But a subjunctive should express some sort of hope or doubt and it is not easy to see why Coleridge uses 'be' here. Is it because he is not speaking in general of all maidens, or was the subjunctive already fading in his day and he i
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Here's one explanation:

It means as many maidens may be but that's too many words; it spoils the rhythm, so may be becomes simply be. The substitution is made for the sake of the meter.

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Another explanation is that this was written long ago, when the subjunctive form be was more commonly used, and be is then regarded
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