I'ld swoon [I would]

bloomcountry

Senior Member
Russian, Spanish
What is the meaning of "I'ld swoon"? Is is a typo? I have never seen the combination of "will" and "would" in the same clause:

"I'ld swoon in the languor of your perfume,
In the drowsed delicious contemplation
Of a neck seen palely through the gloom.
Another hideous eructation.--

Aldous Huxley's "The Betrothal of Priapus" in Jonah: https://dlib.stanford.edu:6521/text1/dd-ill/jonah.pdf
 
  • Nice one panjandrum :).

    It's very unusual to see "I would" contracted to "I'ld" in modern English.
    "I would" is normally contracted to "I'd" nowadays.

    "I'ld" is an odd contraction, really, since we don't pronounce the "l" in "would". Did Aldous Huxley?
     
    I only recently gave up I'ld, when I finally noticed that no one else was using it.

    I used it, not to reflect the pronunciation, but as an aid to reading, to differentiate it from I'd meaning I had. Of course, context is sufficient indicate which is intended, but I prefer that the key be written into the word itself. I'ld still be using it, except that I realize that it looks distractingly odd to other people.
     
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    I only recently gave I'ld up, when I finally noticed that no one else was using it.

    I used it, not to reflect the pronunciation, but as an aid to reading, to differentiate it from I'd meaning I had. Of course, context is sufficient indicate which is intended, but I prefer that the key be written into the word itself. I'ld still be using it, except that I realize that it looks distractingly odd to other people.

    I was brought up in Scotland, at school in the 60's & 70's, and "I'ld" for "I would" was taught as the correct and normal contraction for written speech. I agree that it has become less common but I disagree that it is now wrong. It may well be that even during those years it was not actively taught in England - after all Scotland is the last bastion of the English language.
     
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