Stress, syntax, and meter

Abstract

The way stress is patterned in English verse depends on word and phrase structure, according to strict rules which are not accounted for by either traditional or more recent metrics. This paper is a contribution to the exploration of these rules, and an attempt to develop a formal metrical theory capable of expressing them. The presentation is organized as follows. After an introductory review of some of the problems and proposed solutions in metrics, I give (§1) a sketch of the theory to be defended here. §2 is devoted to justifying this theory on the basis of a fairly close examination of Shakespeare's verse. Then the scope of the investigation is extended in several directions: to other varieties of iambic pentameter (§§3.1–2), trochaic meter (§3.3), ternary meters (§3.4), and finally (§3.5) to some similarities and differences between the metrics of English and other languages, on which the presen: approach sheds new light.