An Enduring Form
An Enduring Form
The English Dolnik
This chapter traces the long history of a rhythmic form whose separate identity has not been fully acknowledged. The staple form of popular verse in English and a number of other languages, it is produced by a doubling process that results in four groups of four beats, or combinations of this pattern. Following the suggestion of some commentators on Russian verse, the name dolnik is proposed for this form. Examples are discussed from the thirteenth century to the present, showing how poets in all periods have found ways of creatively using the form. Beat prosody, it is argued, is best suited to demonstrating the distinctiveness of the form, whereas traditional approaches have disguised its singularity and effectiveness.
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