A FORGOTTEN ACCENT
A FORGOTTEN ACCENT

Summary/Abstract: We are talking about Romanian words which have different meanings according to where we put the accent. As it concerns the verse 84 from "Epigonii" ("Epigones") by M. Eminescu, where the Present form /voi/ mergeţi is considered by certain editors as an Imperfect form: /voi/ mergeaţi, we compare the Imperfect forms stressed by M. Eminescu himself with the same forms unstressed by the poet, and we conclude that the poet stressed only under rhythm, with a prosodic aim, provoking what he called "the ethic accent", i.e. the word is not stressed so as to underline its relevance in the context. To sum up, the accentual forms must be kept to differ from the unstressed ones, as it is the author's personal writing system, which has a poetic meaning, and must be understood.

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