In this article we will analyze in detail the syllabic-tonic versification. We will talk about how this system appeared and came to Russia, we will analyze the dimensions.
What it is?
Syllabic-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 feet, in which there are so-called strengths - stressed vowels, and weaknesses - unstressed vowels. Therefore, when analyzing such poems, not only the size, but also the number of stops in one line is indicated.
Origin
The syllabonic-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, sillabotonica 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 syllable 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 versification system 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 the folk verse and its structure, concluded that the principle of tonicism is the basis of Russian versification.
These studies started by Trediakovsky 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 the metric experience. The basis of syllabo-tonic is the principle of folk verse - the ratio of the lines by location and number of stressed syllables.
Throughout the 19th century, sillabo-tonic dominated poetry. Only a few poets started experiments, mainly due to attempts to imitate folk motifs. Moreover, until about the middle of the 19th century, two syllables were mainly used. The first to actively apply the three-complex sizes began Nekrasov.
However, already at the beginning of the 20th century, active poetry experiments began, which mainly addressed the tonic and the complexity of the poetic form.
Sizes of syllabic-tonic versification
Depending on the number of “strong” and “weak” places in the foot, two varieties of syllabotonic sizes are distinguished - these are two-syllables and three-syllables. Iambic and trochee are considered to be two-syllable, and dactyl, anapaest, amphibrachium, in turn, are three-syllable.
Due to the lexical structure of the Russian language, the three-syllable dimensions seem more musical to the reader, since words with three syllables are selected for the poem and less often have to do “stop replacements”.
These substitutions can be found in choreic and iambic works, since in individual feet very often unstressed syllables appear in strong places, and stressed ones in weak ones. In this regard, we can say that, along with the main two-syllable stops, there are 2 more auxiliary:
- Pyrrhic is 2 syllables in a row with an unstressed vowel.
- Sponday is 2 syllables in a row with a stressed vowel.
Their use in verses provides the lines of the work with a unique rhythmic sound.
Trochee
This is one type of two-syllable meter. In his foot there are only 2 syllables - the first is stressed, the second - unstressed. Chorea is often used for song lyrics.
An example of a 5-foot chorea is a Parsnip poem called “Hamlet”: “The darkness of the night / Thousand binoculars on the axis has been pointed at me ...”. 3-foot - a work of M. Yu. Lermontov "From Goethe": "Quiet valleys / Full of fresh mist ...".
Iamb
The syllabic-tonic versification was leading for Russian poetry of the 19th century, and iamb was the favorite size of A.S. Pushkin.
So, iambic is a two-syllable meter, consisting of 2 syllables - the first unstressed and the second percussion. When the stress is missed, the foot turns into a pyrrhic, and when an additional one appears, it becomes a spondium.
The 4-hystic iambic was the most popular and most often used in Russian poetry. In the 18th century, poets of "high" genres turned to this meter, focusing on the differences between odic works and "light poetry", which was written by the chorea. But in the 19th century, the iambic loses its thematic connection with the poem and becomes a universal meter.
The most striking example is Pushkin's Eugene Onegin: “Latin is out of fashion now: / So, if you tell the truth ...”.
Three complex
Let us now consider the three-complex dimensions of Russian syllabo-tonic versification.
Dactyl is a meter in three syllables, the first of which is a shock. An example is: “The court of God over bishops” (V. A. Zhukovsky), “Mason” (V. Ya. Bryusov). Dactyl is commonly used to simulate a hexameter.
Amphibrachium is also a three-syllable meter, but this time the second is shock. In Russian versification, it is usually used to write epic works. An example is the “Air Ship” - Lermontov’s ballad: “Then the emperor, / Having regained consciousness, appears suddenly ...”.
Anapest is the third three-syllable meter in which the stress is on the last syllable. Examples of such a construction of a poem are poems: “Thoughts at the front door” (Nekrasov) and “At the dawn, do not wake her” (Fet).