The Concepts of “Verse”, “Meter” and “Rhythm” in Russian Verse Theory
The Concepts of “Verse”, “Meter” and “Rhythm” in Russian Verse Theory

Summary/Abstract: A definition is called descriptive (or theoretical) when it identifies the object by enumeration of its properties or functions. A constructive (or practical) definition is an explicit description of its arrangement. Russian verse theorists proposed several theoretical definitions of verse (as opposed to prose), which are not, however, convertible into a constructive definition (a list of formal differences between verse and prose). To date, we are still not capable of developing an algorithm which would enable us to distinguish between prose and verse in general, but leading prosodists have produced both theoretical and constructive definitions of versification systems, verse meters, verse rhythm, and particular rhythmic types of individual meters.

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