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Quantitative verse in a Quantity-Insensitive language: Baïf's vers mesurés*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 October 2008

Barbara E. Bullock
Barbara E. Bullock
Affiliation:
Dept. of FrenchPerm State University, 316 Burrowes Building, University Park, PA. 16802, USA
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Abstract

Many Renaissance poets attempted to imitate classical verse metrics in their own vernaculars. This article examines the quantitative metrical verse of the French poet Baïf who is often criticized for producing unscannable verse using an incomprehensible phonetic orthography. This paper argues that the poet's rules for encoding length, while hermetic, are surprisingly consistent. It is demonstrated that Bai¨f's metrics derive largely from a system that is accentual with his orthography permitting the poet to encode quantitative distinctions that coincide with the metre. This article argues that Baïf's metrical verse provides us with a rare example of how prosody and rhythm in sixteenth century France might have been perceived.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of French Language Studies , Volume 7 , Issue 1 , March 1997 , pp. 23 - 45
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1997

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