Frontmatter -- Acknowledgements -- A note on copyright and transliteration -- Table of contents -- Introduction -- 1. Brodsky's predecessors: Rules, violations, semantics -- 2. Redundant syllables: Elision in Brodsky's verse -- 3. Brodsky's anti-RD rhythm: semantics and sources -- Conclusion -- Appendices -- Appendix I. Changes from Brodsky's drafts to final versions -- Appendix II. 100 randomly-selected words with the shape -Xxx- in the prose of Brodsky, Slutsky, and Donne -- Appendix III. Words with the shape -Xxx- in elision positions in the verse of Donne, Brodsky, and Slutsky -- Appendix IV. Statistical tests of words with the shape -Xxx- in poetry and prose -- Appendix V. Anti-RD rhythm in Brodsky's iambic poems -- Appendix VI. Anti-RD rhythm in Tsvetaeva's iambic poems -- Appendix VII. Anti-RD rhythm in Brodsky, Tsvetaeva, and Donne -- References -- Author index -- Subject index