Iambic verse in different literary traditions

Abstract This paper is devoted to study how the metrical verse like iambic tetrameter can be realized in different literary traditions. The formation of iambic verse in the Early Modern Time in Europe and its spread to the East of the Continent is investigated. The interaction between meter and language in different literary traditions during this process is considered and the nature of the meter’s implementation is determined. As a result of the transfer of iambic verse from one tradition to another, the highest degree of correspondence between meter and language is achieved. The utmost level of verse metricality was especially successfully embodied in the German and later also in the early Russian iambic poetry. However, the evolution and the further transfer of iamb on the East of the Continent significantly modifies the principles of interaction between metrical canon and language prosody.