The Change and Difference of the Prosody

Abstract

Prosody in Tamil has changed and developed from time to time. Prosody itself helps in the creation of traditional poems. Apart from creating traditional poems, prosody is also a tool for knowing the structure and meaning of songs composed on the basis of a tradition dating back to ancient times. It is prosody that lays down the rules for the style of the verse, which treats the subject matter of the book with sound and appearance. If the ideas expressed are in the style of a poem, then the prose has no use for the reciter. That is why, compared to prose, the style of the poem becomes superior. Since all our ancient texts are composed in the style of poetry, the practice of prosody is essential for our fullest experience of them. Tolkappiya poetry is an uncommon component of understanding the structure of ancient Tamil poetry. The former praised the prosodic features and developed them from time to time. The Tholkappiyar was also well-versed in the prosodic system that existed before him. He praises the creators of prosody that existed before him as 'Yaappari Pulavar (Poets who know Prosody)'. Tolkappiyam is the first book we have today to expound the Prosody. After Tholkappiyam, books such as Kakkaipaadiniyam, Avinayam, Yaapparungalam, Yaapparungalakaarikai, Veerachozhiyam, Muthuveeriyam, Palkaayam, etc., have appeared to describe prosody. It is natural that from time to time the emergence of new types of prosody and changes in old prosodic types occur. Therefore, the prosody explained by other poets’ texts differs in some respects from the grammatical trend of Tholkappiyar. This article is based on how Tolkappiyar's opinion about prosodic parts in the grammar of prosody has been changed or different in the prosodic texts that appeared after him.