Convention and parody in the rhyming of Tristan Corbière
-
Dominique Billy
Abstract
In classical verse, the constraint on number in the rhyme is a sub-case of the general constraint against floating consonants. We point out the specific nature of this constraint by reviewing the hierarchy of rules that affect these consonants (§ 1.1, 1.2.1). This presentation is the core of the article, whose goal is to illustrate the application of this constraint by one 19th century French poet whose work constitutes one of the final stages in the evolution of traditional usage, before the constraint was dismantled by Jules Laforgue. By its nature, this application of the constraint falls outside the normal typology by reason of the stylistic consequences involved. Corbière draws on every possible resource available, both in poetic language and in various kinds of grammatical licence, to preserve a rule that he turns into a parody of itself.
Abstract
In classical verse, the constraint on number in the rhyme is a sub-case of the general constraint against floating consonants. We point out the specific nature of this constraint by reviewing the hierarchy of rules that affect these consonants (§ 1.1, 1.2.1). This presentation is the core of the article, whose goal is to illustrate the application of this constraint by one 19th century French poet whose work constitutes one of the final stages in the evolution of traditional usage, before the constraint was dismantled by Jules Laforgue. By its nature, this application of the constraint falls outside the normal typology by reason of the stylistic consequences involved. Corbière draws on every possible resource available, both in poetic language and in various kinds of grammatical licence, to preserve a rule that he turns into a parody of itself.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Contributors vii
- Acknowledgments xiii
- Introduction 1
-
Part I. Isochronous metrics
- Textsetting as constraint conflict 43
- Comparing musical textsetting in French and in English songs 63
- Bavarian Zwiefache 79
- Natural Versification in French and German counting-out rhymes 101
- Minimal chronometric forms 123
- Symmetry and children’s poetry in sign languages 143
-
Part II. Prosodic metrics
- Pairs and triplets 167
- Generative linguistics and Arabic metrics 193
- On the meter of Middle English alliterative verse 209
- The Russian Auden and the Russianness of Auden 229
- Towards a universal definition of the caesura 247
- Metrical alignment 267
- Rephrasing line-end restrictions 287
-
Part III. Para-metrical phenomena
- Pif paf poof 307
- The phonology of elision and metrical figures in Italian versification 325
-
Part IV. Macrostructural metrics
- Convention and parody in the rhyming of Tristan Corbière 337
- The metrics of Sephardic song 355
- A rule of metrical uniformity in old Hungarian poetry 371
- Metrical structure of the European sonnet 385
- Persons index 403
- Languages index 411
- Subjects index 415
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Contributors vii
- Acknowledgments xiii
- Introduction 1
-
Part I. Isochronous metrics
- Textsetting as constraint conflict 43
- Comparing musical textsetting in French and in English songs 63
- Bavarian Zwiefache 79
- Natural Versification in French and German counting-out rhymes 101
- Minimal chronometric forms 123
- Symmetry and children’s poetry in sign languages 143
-
Part II. Prosodic metrics
- Pairs and triplets 167
- Generative linguistics and Arabic metrics 193
- On the meter of Middle English alliterative verse 209
- The Russian Auden and the Russianness of Auden 229
- Towards a universal definition of the caesura 247
- Metrical alignment 267
- Rephrasing line-end restrictions 287
-
Part III. Para-metrical phenomena
- Pif paf poof 307
- The phonology of elision and metrical figures in Italian versification 325
-
Part IV. Macrostructural metrics
- Convention and parody in the rhyming of Tristan Corbière 337
- The metrics of Sephardic song 355
- A rule of metrical uniformity in old Hungarian poetry 371
- Metrical structure of the European sonnet 385
- Persons index 403
- Languages index 411
- Subjects index 415
