Prosodic background

The Tamil conception of metrical structure includes elements that appear in no other major prosodic system.^[1] This discussion is presented in terms of syllables, feet, and lines (although syllables are not explicitly present in Tamil prosodic theory).

Similarly to classical Latin, Greek, and Sanskrit prosody, a syllable is long if its vowel is (1) long (including diphthongs^[2]) or (2) followed by two or more consonants.^[3] Generally other syllables are short, though some syllables are considered "overshort" and ignored in the metrical scheme,^[4] while "overlong" syllables are variously dealt with.^[5]

Metrical structure

Veṇpā is a closely related family of very strict^[6] Tamil verse forms. They differ chiefly in the number of standard lines that occur before the final short line. In kuṟaḷ-veṇpā (or simply "kural") a single 4-foot ("standard") line is followed by a final 3-foot ("short") line, resulting in a 7-foot couplet.^[7] Syntactically, each foot normally consists of only a single word, but may also consist of two words if they are very closely linked (for example, in apposition).^[3] Metrically, the first six feet are all identical, conforming to this structure:

(u)x (u)x (x)

u = 1 short syllable

x = 1 short or 1 long syllable (anceps in Western parlance)

( ) = the enclosed syllable is optional

This very flexible structure would generate 48 possible syllabic patterns, but two additional constraints apply: ^[8]

1. The initial (u)x may not be realized by u alone.
2. The final anceps is prohibited if the second (u)x is realized by u alone.

...leaving 30 possible syllabic patterns per foot, each realized with two to five syllables:

 –  u
 –  – (x)
 – uu (x)
 – u– (x)

uu  u
uu  – (x)
uu uu (x)
uu u– (x)

u–  u
u–  – (x)
u– uu (x)
u– u– (x)

– = long syllable

(x) represents 3 possibilities: absent, u (short), or – (long)

The kural's final foot is essentially a much-shortened version. The structure of the entire couplet is thus:

(u)x (u)x (x) | (u)x (u)x (x) | (u)x (u)x (x) | (u)x (u)x (x)
(u)x (u)x (x) | (u)x (u)x (x) | (u)x

| = division between feet (and words)

In actual composition, syllabic patterns are limited further, because every realized foot places constraints upon the syllabic pattern of the following foot, thus:^[9]

• When the final optional anceps of a foot is PRESENT, the next foot must not begin with a short syllable.
• When the final optional anceps of a foot is ABSENT AND …
  • The middle optional short syllable is PRESENT, the next foot must not begin with a short syllable.
  • The middle optional short syllable is ABSENT, the next foot must begin with a short syllable.

Ornamentation

One ornamental feature of Tamil versification is etukai, often translated "rhyme",^[10][11] although it is distinct from typical Western rhyme. This occurs often in kural, but is not obligatory.^[12] There is variance in Tamil practice, but in a kural couplet, etukai is usually more or less equivalent to the exact repetition of the initial line's second syllable as the final line's second syllable. An example (not in a kural, but in a four-line veṇpā) is:

Sometimes additional syllables, beyond the second, are also repeated.^[11]