Before dwelling on the question of how to determine the sizes of poetic lines, it should be noted that we are talking about a syllabonic-tonic system of versification, where the determining element is the foot. This is such a repeating element, which consists of one stressed and a certain number of unstressed syllables. The foot was already known in antiquity, but there it consisted not of stressed and unstressed syllables, but of long and short ones.
The sizes are determined by the nature of the foot and the number of feet in the verse (poetic line). One of the typical wording errors is the tautological phrase “poetic size of a verse”. This phrase can often be heard from schoolchildren and even from teachers, it is incorrect, although it is very common. The size of a verse is by its nature poetic, therefore it is incorrect to ask: “How to determine the poetic size of a verse?”, It is correct to say: “How to determine the size of a verse?”
Double foot
The size of the foot depends on the size of the poem. How to determine the nature of the foot, prompt chanting, recording a verse in the form of a diagram and determining what place the stressed syllable occupies in each repeating element of the poem.
Two-syllable feet consist of two syllables (that is, the element is repeated every two syllables).
If the first syllable of a repeating element is stressed, and the second is unstressed, then this is a trochee. It is enough to repeat any choreic word several times (summer, autumn) to feel the sound of the chorea. Chorea is very common in poetry and is known to readers both from the works of modern authors and from the works of classics. Choreic verses are very characteristic of poetry addressed to children:
Once in autumn, Osika donkey
He slept very badly at night.
And when eight struck
Donkey Osia did not get up ... (A. Chebyshev)
Hedgehog Honya was quiet
Hedgehog Honya was in no hurry.
Here is one time hedgehog Honya
Decided to go for water ... (A. Chebyshev)
A turtle's bathing day.
Very troublesome for him:
I have to wash my shirt
And wash yourself ... (A. Chebyshev)
If the second syllable is stressed in the foot, then it is iambic. Iambic verses are no less popular.
The kitten was fluffy
And very naughty.
He ran fast fast
For the cat and for me.
More to the dog Bug
He often molested ...
And if you take it on the handles,
He purred and slept. (A. Chebyshev)
To "hear" the sound of iamba, just repeat any iambic word (spring, heat). Yamb is usually associated with the sound of Pushkin's "Eugene Onegin."
Three compound feet
Three-syllable feet consist, respectively, of three syllables, one of which is the first, second or third - stressed.
If the first syllable is stressed, then this is called a dactyl. To “hear” a dactyl, it is enough to repeat any dactylic word (joyfully, sadly). Dactyl is very common in Russian poetry, but it can be found somewhat less frequently than iamba and chorea.
Three and four, and two hippos
Met two and four elephants.
Nearby - one - it was a swamp,
Two is a river.
And the palm tree is one.
Three and one hippos said:
"Hello, two and four elephants."
And the rest lay under a palm tree.
There were many
And the palm tree is one. (A. Chebyshev)
If the stressed syllable is the second, then it is amphibrach. After repeating the amphibrachic word (native, dog, nature), it is easy to feel the special sound of amphibrachia. The amphibrachic name of the fictional character Pupusik determined the sound of a comic cycle of poems by Andrei Chebyshev, "The economic baby doll and eight convex nosiks":
... Once upon a time, a sweet little boy drove flowers,
And nusiki measured the water in pots,
They watched so that he didn’t
And in every pot I drove a lot ...
... Once upon a time, a sweet little boy raises lunch
And he remembered that there was not a handful of salt.
And the nusiki snapped: “Not a trumbambole!
Even in the old buba salt swelled up ... "
... Once upon a time, the little sweetie was cooking with a friend,
Suddenly, the nusiki barked with a loud fear:
“Little sweetie!” Pupusik! He is not a friend at all!
Watch how he predates with his eyes around!
He ate three sweeties and six blambeches.
And what will they eat in the evening? .. "
In the event that the third syllable of the three is stressed, they say about anapest. To feel the anapaest, one can repeat several times any anapaestic word (city, four).
... but there is still a resurrection.
And today you can’t pamper,
Because when the resurrection,
We don’t have to get up early.
Mom-Dad won't be with an alarm
Like today, cursing in the morning ...
But in my refrigerator
Very tasty fish caviar.
And last Sunday on Sunday -
There still sold elephants -
With mom and dad we walked in families,
And they had Seryozha Panov ... (A. Chebyshev)
These are the five most common, classic stops. In Russian classics they are mainly used, and they determine the most famous and widespread poetic sizes. How to determine the size itself, and not just the type of foot, will be described below.
Four compound feet (peons)
Russian poetry also knows four-compound feet, they are called peons. If the stressed syllable is the first, then such a foot is called peon I, if the second, then, respectively, peon II, and so on. Peons are easily confused with chorea or iamba, however, if you listen, their sound is different. As part of the school curriculum, they mainly talk about classic feet - two-syllables and three-syllables.
Five compound feet (pentons)
In addition, five-compound feet, or pentameter, or pentons are possible. These feet can be found in Russian folk poetry or in its stylizations. The most common are the five syllables with the third stressed syllable: “Like a mother, in damp earth ...” The sound of Penton III is really very characteristic and unforgettable, familiar to many in Russian epics.
The number of feet in a verse
Stop determined by the poetic size. How to determine the type of foot is described above, however, in order to find out what size the poem is written, knowledge about the type of foot is not enough. A foot is the unit by which size is measured. The second action that needs to be done is to calculate exactly how many stops form a poetic line (verse).
Correct names of poetic sizes therefore sound, for example, as follows: “three-syllable trochee” (the number of choreic stops in a row is three), “five-syllable iambic” (the number of iambic stops in a row is five), “two-syllable anapaest” (the number of anapaestic stops in a row is two), etc. A typical mistake is made by many schoolchildren and students, answering the question: "What size is it?" - naming only the type of foot. It’s wrong to say “The size of this poem is a dactyl”, it’s right to say: “The size of this poem is a three-handed (double-footed, etc.) dactyl.”
Determining the number of stops in a verse
So, the size and nature of the feet depend on the poetic size. How to determine the number of stops? It depends on the number of percussion (circuit) stresses. Let us explain this with the example of chorea and amphibrachia.
If I wear a hat
I’ll almost become like a dad.
Well, dad and without a hat
Looks like a dad anyway.
In this poem “About Dad's Hat” by Andrei Chebyshev, the size is defined as a four-syllable trochee, as the poetic line (verse) contains four choreic feet.
The horse galloped across the field, galloped,
Galloping across the field and very tired.
And stood in the field, and plucked grass.
And again, jumping, jumping, jumping.
And bathed in the river, and played with a mane,
And again she rode across the field, rode.
Neither the wind nor the bird can catch her.
No one can ride so fast.
In this poem of the same author, the number of feet is also four, but the feet, unlike the previous example, are not choreic, but amphibrachic, so the size of this poem is four-foot amphibrach.