A Parametric Theory of Poetic Meter 论文

摘要

This paper presents a parametric theory of poetic meter which defines a set of formally possible meters based on the prosodic constituents and categories given by universal grammar, and a functional principle that selects an optimal meter for a particular language on the basis of its lexical phonological structure. We support this theory by a detailed analysis of a favored meter in Finnish, a stress-based meter in which syllable count varies in accord with constraints on syllable weight, and show why partially similar meters are likewise favored in English. Genius ipsius linguae Fennicae, copiosa vocum ponderosissimarum et elegantissimarum varietate superbientis, egregie vatum favet industriae. (H. G. Porthan, Dissertatio de Poesi Fennica, 1778.)