ON THE ORIGIN AND NATURE OF UKRAINIAN IAMBS IN COMPARISON WITH RUSSIAN VERSE

This article studies the emergence and development of the iambic tetrameter in Ukrainian poetry. Its genesis and evolution are examined against the background of Russian metrical verse. The evolution of the Ukrainian iamb's features is traced from 1761 to Taras Shevchenko. The main hypothesis of this study is that, despite a certain dependence on Russian models, the rhythm of Ukrainian verse develops indepen-dently: while the early forms of the Ukrainian tetrameter are closely connected with the poetic work of Mikhail Lomonosov and Alexander Sumarokov, afterward the orig-inality of the Ukrainian iamb intensifies. The Ukrainian tetrameter represents a new evolutionary stage of European metrical versification, which is drifting further away from the continental prosodic canons.(c) 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This article examines the emergence and development of iambic tetrameter in Ukrainian poetry. It finds that Ukrainian iambic tetrameter has a unique rhythmic structure, with a certain dependence on Russian models. The Ukrainian iambic tetrameter represents a new evolutionary stage of European metrical versification.