Dwarven art is built on the harmonious intertwining of form and feeling, and dwarven literature is no exception. Dwarven poetry and prose alike is expected to conform to one of a limited number of strict forms. Deviation from the form is thought to cheapen the entire work; in traditional dwarf literature, there can be no art if there is not, first and foremost, an absolute technical perfection.
The most common poetic forms are:
- Nen aDi iqUnfaTep (Nine-of-two, fourteen steps) - Nine couplets, each line of fourteen beats
- aDi Heg aDiTep ( of two sis of two-steps) - Iambic hexameter of any length, in couplets
- FaSa (Square) Four lines of four beats
Music uses various sizes of viol, the serpent horn, three variations of bagpipe, and various struck or shaken percussion. Rhythm and key structure are, of course, subject to stringent rules of form. Vocal performances are recited or plainsong.
A modern iconoclastic movement among dwarf musicians has seen a rebellion against the traditional forms, although this more often involves adopting the most exacting interpretation of a non-dwarven form, or an entirely new form, than promoting the rejection of form outright.
One of the most widespread impacts of iconoclasm has been the growth of vocal harmonies among hill communities, with individual singers or full choirs rejecting plainsong, and even singing with instrumental accompaniments. Such crassness finds no purchase in the conservative mountain holds, of course, where even reversing the stress on on iamb will see a poet censured by eir peers.
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