regular recurrence of ancient, indicated either by stress or some other means. The rhythm of a line in poetry is as completely tied to the phonetic properties of the language in which it is written as are the syllables of the words in the prose of the language concerned. This is, above all, a matter of the duration of the syllables and the stress with which they are pronounced. Syllables have a measurable length in all languages, but whereas in some ( e.g. in the Germanic languages) there is no fixed and definite proportion of length of syllables (for, although there are admittedly some syllables in these languages which are always long and others which are always short, there are many which have no fixed quantity), there on the other hand, other languages (such as ancient Greek) where the quantity of every syllable in every word is absolutely fixed. In these, there is a strict distinction between long and short syllables in prose, too; the ratio of length is roughly 2 : 1. The position is similar with regard to the element of stress: whilst in every language there is one syllable in a word which is somehow raised above the others, the strength of this accent is, however, something which differs widely in the individual syllables are distinguished only by a higher tone, whilst in the Germanic languages they are distinguished by an expiratory stress which renders them more emphatic in comparison with the other syllables. The rhythmic structure of the verse has in all languages to adapt itself to these qualities of the syllables. If the quantity of the syllables is definitely fixed, then the rhythm of the verse attained largely by regularly recurring sequences of short and long syllables, forming metrical “feet”, which last the same length of time. One then speaks of “quantitative” verse. If, on the other hand, stress, rather than any fixed quantity, is the characteristic by means of which definite syllables are distinguished from their neighbours, then the rhythm of the verse and the structure of its metre, will both be largely produced by the alternation of accented and unaccented syllables. In this case we speak of “accentual” verse. From the prose of the Koran, and the poetry of the ancient poets, as it has come down to us, we know that in the ancient Arabic language the quantity of the syllables was definitely fixed. From certain grammatical facts one may assume that an expiratory accent was also present, though only slightly developed. A priori one can therefore assume that the rhythm in ancient Arabic verse (as in ancient Greek verse) found its expression in “quantitative” metrics. The theoretical treatment of this problem, however, was at that time a far more difficult one for the Arabic philologists than for the Greek prosodist. The latter used the term “syllable”, made a clear distinction between short and long syllables, and chose the short syllable, the ?????? ?????? , as the basic unit for measuring the duration of the verse. They also had a term and a graphic sign for the pitch by which one syllable in every word was distinguished. Arabic philologists, by contrast, did not posses the concept of syllable, let alone the refinement of the “short syllable”. Al-Khaliil, too, did know the words “syllable” and “stress”, yet his ear surely perceived what we call syllables and stresses, for his graphic paraphrase – which we can understand if we try hard – does give us a clear picture of rhythm in ancient Arabic verse. Primarily,
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