Is “Rouse me not” grammatically permissible? [duplicate]
In A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin, he writes that the “words” [see footnote] of House Grandison are Rouse Me Not.
Is this grammatically correct? Does English allow such word-scrambling in sentences?
- Where a House’s “words” serve as the House motto.
It isn't word scrambling; it's perfectly grammatical, albeit in a less-used format. It is in imperative mood, i.e. a command. "Rouse me not" might be more neutrally reworded "Don't rouse me", but in this form with the verb first and the negation at the end, there is veiled threat implied, because "rouse" is often used with "anger", and in this context, if you rouse them, it implies they will be angry.
You find the same imperative format in the King James Version of the New Testament. Jesus says to Mary, "Touch me not" (John 20:17).