Talk:Dzur

From the Lyorn Records of the Dragaeran Empire

[edit] Pronouncing "Dzur"

The Cycle poem is in trochaic tetrameter, (with catalexis) with the exception of the line:

Dzur stalks and blends with night.

The only way the poem scans is if Dzur is pronounced with TWO syllables, with the first one strongest, as in:

"DEE-zur" stalks and blends with night.

Does anyone think that it's pronounced that way? Or have another way to make that line scan properly? --Steve the Younger 12:19, 27 Oct 2005 (UTC)

I think it's just a sign that the Dzur nature is too impatient to wait to get through the line in the proper meter. <smirk>

--Majikjon 13:01, 27 Oct 2005 (UTC)

I figured you were supposed to purr it. "Dzurrrrrrr stalks and blends with night ..." - Rook 15:09, 27 Oct 2005 (UTC)

Well, I got answers from a few people including SKZB. I like Rook's answer better than mine or Steve Brust's. (He just mentioned on the mailing list that he hates the line, hates the poem, and reads it (when he must) with an extra beat *before* "Dzur", which I think is even lamer than the other suggestions. (I don't think it's possible -- the beat would be "strong" and the word "Dzur" weak. You'd have to put the extra beat *after* Dzur to work.)

There are many reasons I hate that poem and wish I'd never written it; you've just mentioned one. "Dzur" is one syllable. The only way to make that line work is with a beat, or a breath, *before* the beginning of the line, which is ugly. --Steven Brust

Although the "impatient Dzur" answer is funny, it's possible to give that feeling using legitimate meter substitutions, wbut I haven't seen or thought of any yet. --Steve the Younger 12:16, 28 Oct 2005 (UTC)