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Thursday, December 3rd, 2015 04:08 pm
I throw this out to the multitude because I forgot to ask my creative writing teacher.

How do you pronounce the name Proserpine? Is it Pross-er-pin-ay or Proser-pine or Proz-er-pin-ay or what?

I've seen it written down. I know she's in a poem by Shelley (I think it's Shelley) but I've never heard it said.
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Thursday, December 3rd, 2015 04:17 pm (UTC)
From my recollection of doing Shelley at school, we were told for those purposes to pronounce it "Prosser-peen".
Thursday, December 3rd, 2015 04:29 pm (UTC)
That's how I pronounce it too, but it was only when Lexin mentioned it that I realised I'd never actually heard it pronounced. I think I picked up the pronounciation because of a reference in a novel (poss a Heyer) where it's used to rhyme and I extrapolated from that.
Thursday, December 3rd, 2015 04:32 pm (UTC)
Do you mean in Latin, or in English? The Latin is often spelled with final /-a/ and pronounced /pro ser PI na/, wtih the vowels given their Romance values. English it's generally pronounced with the same vowels, but with the stress pattern of the equivalent Greek Persephone-- /pro SER pi na/.

But if it's the poem I think you're thinking of, it's by Swinbourne, and he stresses it on the first syllable and rhymes it with "wine." So I guess there you pronounce it the way the poet wants you to.
Friday, December 4th, 2015 09:48 pm (UTC)
What a beautiful poem! Yeah, English poetry was not a staple in my education, and I am unfamiliar with Mr Swinburne.

I didn't realize it before, but if I see Proserpine I automatically say Persephone. Mostly the same letters, I guess. Good old pattern matching!
Thursday, December 3rd, 2015 08:04 pm (UTC)
Not so much often as always!

In 19th century English pronunciation of Latin, long "I" was as in "night" and short "I" was as in "bit" but as this is the Anglicised spelling anyway that doesn't matter.
Friday, December 4th, 2015 01:30 am (UTC)
Well, I'd pronounce it Persephone, having no truck with those Roman types.

But last week, when I went to the broadcast of The Winter's Tale, Perdita was saying

"...O Proserpina,
For the flowers now that frighted thou let'st fall
from Dis's wagon!"

Obviously Shakespeare was going for the -a spelling, but I think HRH said Pross-er-pee-na. That might be the rural Bohemian accent, of course.
Friday, December 4th, 2015 01:47 pm (UTC)
The whole "Winter garments must be lined, so must slender Rosalind" speech suggests that was the accepted rhyme around 1600, unless the dissonance is Touchstone's joke.