In the field of metrics, it has long been observed that verse lines tend to be more regular or restricted towards the end (Arnold 1905). This has led to the Strict End Hypothesis [SEH], which proposes a general versification principle of universal scope (Hayes 1983). This paper argues that two main challenges hinder the substantiation of the SEH in a broad typological sample of unrelated verse corpora. First, the concept of strictness is too coarse and needs to be narrowed down to testable features or subcomponents. Second, explicit measures need to be developed which enable the systematic comparison of corpora, particularly when trying to capture potentially gradient features such as the relative faithfulness to a metrical template. This study showcases how to overcome these issues by analysing the entropy at different positions in the line for corpora in five languages (English, Dutch, Sanskrit, Estonian, Berber). Finally, I argue that, if the SEH is shown to be typologically robust, shared human cognitive features may provide a partial explanation for this puzzling asymmetry in verse lines.

中文翻译：

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测试经文最后严格性的稳健性

在度量领域，人们长期以来一直观察到诗句的线条趋于更规则或趋于受限（Arnold 1905）。这导致了严格的最终假设[SEH]，它提出了普遍适用范围的一般化原则（Hayes 1983）。本文认为，在不相关的语料库的广泛类型学样本中，两个主要挑战阻碍了SEH的证实。首先，严格性的概念过于粗糙，需要缩小到可测试的功能或子组件。其次，需要制定明确的措施，以实现语料库的系统比较，尤其是在尝试捕获潜在的梯度特征（例如对度量模板的相对忠诚度）时。这项研究展示了如何通过分析五种语言（英语，荷兰语，梵语，爱沙尼亚语，柏柏尔语）的语料库中不同位置的熵来克服这些问题。最后，我认为，如果显示SEH在类型学上很健壮，则人类共有的认知特征可能会部分解释这种令人费解的经文不对称性。