
Full text loading...
It is generally assumed that accentual verse (heffingsvers), a medieval technique in which each line has a fixed number of stressed syllables and a varying number of weak or unstressed syllables, stopped existing in the Dutch language around the year 1700. This article shows that this is not true: accentual verse exists in modern Dutch-language pop songs (Nederpop). Auditory scanning of the forty most successful Dutch-language songs in the history of the Top 40 (1965-2023) shows that 43% of that corpus contains accentual verse. Chronologically throughout the years, the number of songs containing accentual verse increases, while classical meter decreases. In addition, full-rhyming end rhyme decreases, while assonant half-rhyme as end rhyme increases. Just as in the Middle Ages, verses with four stresses occur most frequently in this corpus. Researching accentual verse can teach us about literary-historical lines and the performativity of historical literary texts.
Article metrics loading...
Full text loading...
References
Data & Media loading...