Metrics in Azerbaijani Turkish Beshliks

Beshliks are ten-syllable verses and are called so because every hemistich contains ten syllables which is divided into two five-syllable parts and each stanza contains four hemistiches. The metrics of Abolghasem Nabati were analyzed based on the studies of Lazard (1985, 2007) which asserts that there are one or more light syllables and one heavy syllable in every foot,. In investigating Parthian folk poetries, Lazard refers to ictuses which are related to syllable quantity and are not located on word stresses but are always located on the last syllable of the foot. Fifty hemistiches of Turkish folk verses were analyzed considering these three hypothesis: first, the ictic syllable is a heavy syllable; second, if the ictus is not a heavy syllable, it is the final syllable of the word and therefore takes lexical stress; third, as in Turkish folk poetries, the pause takes place in the middle of the word as well as at the end of the word. The results showed that 95.5% of the syllables which took the ictus place were heavy syllables and the rest (4.5%) were light syllable at the end of the words. Also, 56% of the pauses were located in the middle of the words.