Syllabo-tonic versification: origin and dimensions

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

In this article we will analyze in detail the syllabo-tonic versification. Let's talk about how this system appeared and came to Russia, let's analyze the dimensions.

What is this?

Syllabo-tonic versification is a poetic system built on the regularity of grouping and alternating unstressed and stressed syllables. In verses written in this way, all syllables can be grouped into stops, in which there are so-called strong points - stressed vowels, and weak points - unstressed vowels. Therefore, when analyzing such poems, not only the size is indicated, but also the number of stops in one line.

Origin

The syllabo-tonic system of versification originated in European poetry. This happened due to the merger of the syllabic verse, which was used in the Romance languages, and the tonic alliterative, which came from the Germanic languages. This process ended in different countries at different times. So, in England, syllabotonics was established already in the 15th century, thanks to J. Chaucer, and in Germany only in the 17th century after the reform of M. Opitz.

Russian syllabo-tonic versification

The main merit in the reformation of the Russian poetic style belongs to M. V. Lomonosov and V. K. Trediakovsky.

So, in the 30s of the 18th century, Trediakovsky began to speak with texts whose structure was significantly different from the syllabic system of versification adopted at that time, based on the number of syllables in a line, and not on the number of stressed or unstressed vowels. The poet, having studied folk verse and its structure, concluded that Russian versification is based on the principle of tonic.

These studies started by Trediakovsky were continued by Lomonosov. It was he who created the syllabo-tonic versification in Russia. This system, based on the alternation of stressed and unstressed vowels, takes into account metrical experience. The syllabic tonic is based on the principle of folk verse - the ratio of lines by location and number of stressed syllables.

Throughout the 19th century, syllabo-tonic dominated poetry. Only a few poets embarked on experiments, this was mainly due to attempts to imitate folk motives. At the same time, until about the middle of the 19th century, two-syllables were mainly used. Nekrasov was the first to actively use three-syllable sizes.

However, already at the beginning of the 20th century, active poetic experiments began, which mainly turned to the tonic and complication of the poetic form.

Measures of syllabo-tonic versification

Depending on the number of "strong" and "weak" places in the foot, twovarieties of syllabic-tonic sizes are two-syllables and three-syllables. Iambic and trochee are classified as disyllabic, while dactyl, anapaest, amphibrach are classified as trisyllabic.

Due to the lexical structure of the Russian language, three-syllable meters seem to the reader more musical, since words with three syllables are selected for the poem and “foot substitutions” are less likely to be made.

These substitutions can be found in choreic and iambic works, since in some feet very often unstressed syllables appear in strong places, and stressed in weak ones. In this regard, we can say that, along with the main disyllabic stops, there are 2 more auxiliary ones:

• Pyrrhic is 2 syllables in a row with an unstressed vowel.
• Spondey is 2 syllables in a row with a stressed vowel.

Using them in poetry gives the lines of the work a unique rhythmic sound.

Khorei

This is one type of disyllabic meter. There are only 2 syllables in his foot - the first is stressed, the second is unstressed. Trochee is often used for song lyrics.

An example of a 5-foot trochaic is Pasternak's poem called "Hamlet": "The twilight of the night is pointed at me / A thousand binoculars on the axis …". 3-foot - the work of M. Yu. Lermontov "From Goethe": "Quiet valleys / Full of fresh darkness …".

Yamb

Syllabo-tonic versification was the leading one for Russian poetry of the 19th century, and iamb was A. S.'s favorite meter. Pushkin.

So, iambic is disyllabicmeter, consisting of 2 syllables - the first unstressed and the second stressed. When an accent is omitted, the stop turns into a pyrrhic, and when an additional one appears, it turns into a sponde.

The iambic 4-stop was the most popular and most frequently used in Russian poetry. In the 18th century, poets of the "high" genres turned to this meter, focusing on the differences between odic works and "light poetry", which was written in chorea. But in the 19th century, the iambic loses its thematic connection with the poem and becomes a universal meter.

The clearest example is Pushkin's "Eugene Onegin": "Latin is out of fashion today: / So, if I tell you the truth …".

Tri-syllables

Let's now consider the three-syllable meters of the Russian syllabo-tonic versification.

Dactyl is a meter with three syllables, the first of which is stressed. Examples are: "God's Judgment on Bishops" (V. A. Zhukovsky), "Mason" (V. Ya. Bryusov). Dactyl is usually used to imitate hexameter.

Amphibrach is also a meter with three syllables, but this time the accent is the second one. In Russian versification, it is usually used to write epic works. An example is the "Airship" - Lermontov's ballad: "The emperor then came out of the coffin, / Waking up, suddenly appears …".

Anapest is the third three-syllable meter in which the stress falls on the last syllable. Examples of such a construction of a verse are the poems: “Reflections at the front door” (Nekrasov) and “Don’t wake her up at dawn” (Fet).