Verse diversification: Frequencies and variations of verse types in <i>Vana kannel</i> and <i>Kalevipoeg</i>

Abstract

The present study concentrates on specific linguistic aspects in traditional Estonian poetic texts. Focusing on the verse structure of the traditional folk song of Vana kannel and the individually edited and authored epic poem Kalevipoeg, different aspects of the length of verse lines, of the words included in these verses, and of the relation between verse and word length shall be analyzed, aiming to study verse variability in detail. Given there are specific rules of verse and word length organization, as well as of regular relations between them, sequences of words with different length, resulting in different verse types, are focused. Theoretical and empirical evidence is provided that, in addition to existing regularities, verse variability, too, follows specific rules which can be modelled in terms of a diversificational process.