Accent and Metre in French: A Theory of the Relation Between Linguistic Accent and Metrical Practice in French, 1100-1900

There is currently no generally accepted theory of metre in French poetry. The aim of this book is to propose one which will be practically useful to readers and analysts of French verse. This theory relates metre to the accentual structure of different registers of spoken and written Modern French. It also addresses problems in the history of French metre by examining language texts from the Old French epic to the lyrics of Verlaine, as well as musical texts from the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries.