vers imparisyllabique . In Fr. pros., a distinctively unusual phenomenon—a line of verse with an odd number of syllables. Although the v. i. is to be found throughout the history of Fr. verse (e.g. in Aucassin et Nicolette , the 16th-c. ode, Malherbe, La Fontaine, Marceline Desbordes-Val-more, Hugo), it is particularly associated with the vers libéré (q.v .) of the proto-symbolists (Verlaine, Rimbaud, Mallarmé) and their successors, because in their work it is exploited more systematically and more polemically—Leconte de Lisle, leader of the Parnassians (q.v.), was of the opinion that “Fr. verse thrives on equilibrium; it dies if its parisyllabic nature is tampered with.” Because it is slightly “out of true”, a kind of vers faux , and because of its lack of self-assured equilibrium, the v. i. can be seen as intrinsically anti-oratorical, and particularly suited to the depiction of moods that are unstable, nervous, indeterminate or ironic and mischievous. At the same time, however, by increasing the reader’s alertness to syllabic values, it can achieve modal and tonal effects of great subtlety. Verlaine’s Art poétique , in lines of nine syllables, advocates the v. i. in these terms:
De la musique avant toute chose,Et pour cela préfère l’ Impair
Plus vague et plus soluble dans l’ air
Sans ríen en luí qui pese ou qui pose
(Above all else be musical,
And therefore prefer the v.i.
Vaguer and more evanescent,
Weightless and volatile.)
M. Grammont, Le Vers français , rev. ed. (1961), Petit Traité de versification française , 10th ed. (1982); F. Deloffre, Le Vers français (1969); Elwert; M. Deguy, “Notes sur le rythme ou comment faire un i.”, Langue francaise 56 (1982); L. Victor, “À propos de vers”, FM 53 (1985).
User Comments Add a comment…