Postoji li, uistinu, tročlani dvanaesterac?
Is There, Really, a Three-Colon 12-Syllable Line in Serbo-Croatian?

Summary/Abstract: The general question of criteria which decide that a set of formal features composes a distinct and coherent verse form underlies this study of the structure of the Serbo-Croatian longer lament line (the three-colon 12-syllable line, 4+4+4). Starting from the traditional notion of that line, as formulated by T. Maretić, the study (1) examines the idea of the verse's third colon being a simple refrain, or an addition comparable to refrain by its function (the "retardative element" of the verse line, in view of B. I. Jarho), and proposes an alternative description of the relationship of the third colon to the rest of the line. After (la) a terminological excursus (pripjev, today 'refrain', is found to have had a more complex meaning in the language of Vuk Karadžić, and Vuk's usage is taken as offering a specific insight into his approach to folk poetry), the study proceeds (2) as an examination of some other formal criteria applicable to the description of a verse form (such as disposition of its lines, the syntax of verse, sound repetitions, and the verse's rhythmical structure), dealing carefully with those suggested for the longer lament line by M. Murko, B. I. Jarho and R. Jakobson. The study continues (3) by discussing the possibility of distinguishing a verse form by the help of a combined set of formal features, and concludes with general remarks on the way in which formal features, by which a verse form is defined, are themselves produced and made relevant in versification. It is in accord with these general remarks that the existence of a three-colon 12-syllable line, as a distinct form in Serbo-Croatian, is established primarily by pointing out the distinct function which is performed by it in the poetic tradition.

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