Towards a description of the metrical structure of Burmese poetry

I. V. Sarkisov

doi:10.28995/2686-7249-2021-2-135-162

Towards a description of the metrical structure of Burmese poetry

I. V. Sarkisov

https://doi.org/10.28995/2686-7249-2021-2-135-162

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Abstract

This article studies the rules of versification in Burmese traditional poetry. The topic of Burmese metrics has been studied incompletely and one of the main issues connected with its study is the lack of availability of traditional Burmese sources. This research is the first one to use statistical methods to study Burmese metrics. The approach is based on the material of 16 Burmese poetic texts (1279 lines in total) and certain information from the previous works as well. This research has shown two important ideas – the first is that until the 16th century, Burmese poems were written using a syllabic meter where each line consisted of four syllables that were connected by internal rhyme. The rules of rhyme sometimes were violated and the sequence of tones did not play any role. After the 16th century some new meters became popular, and according to the results of the research these meters appear to be more loosely syllabic. Another important fact, which has been discovered during the research, is that the rhymes in Burmese poems are internal much like Thai poetry as well and this is in contrast to European poetry.

Keywords

metrics, poetry, Burmese language, Burmese literature, Southeast Asian languages, syllabic meters, internal rhyme,

About the Author

I. V. Sarkisov

HSE University
Russian Federation

Ivan V. Sarkisov, postgraduate student

bld. 20, Myasnitskaya St., Moscow, 101000

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Supplementary files

For citation: Sarkisov I.V. Towards a description of the metrical structure of Burmese poetry. RSUH/RGGU Bulletin: “Literary Teory. Linguistics. Cultural Studies”, Series. 2021;(2-2):135-162. https://doi.org/10.28995/2686-7249-2021-2-135-162

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