Czech medieval and folk poetry did not yet use word stress count as an element of prosody, while their Renaissance poetry was mainly dactylic. Most of the poem rhymes in an abba pattern, and while most of the lines are tetrameters, some of the longer non-narrative lyrical descriptions consist of longer lines. Sometimes the poet uses longer dashes to indicate stops that are nonetheless part of the line, such as in the second canto, where the dripping of water measures out the convict's time: "zní--hyne--zní a hyne-- / zní--hyne--zní a hyne zas--" ("sound--die--sound and die-- / sound--die--sound and die again"). Reception and criticism Mácha correctly estimates, in the opening remarks of his poem, that the poem is unlikely to be well received by his contemporaries: it "met with indifference and even hostility". Contemporary poet Josef Kajetán Tyl satirized Mácha's persona in "Rozervanec", and František Palacký, a leading figure in the Czech National Revival, likewise criticized the poet's talent (commentary that Mácha himself referred to in an 1835 diary entry). As with many poets, of particular interest to scholars is the relationship between Mácha himself and his poetic work, which is "intensely personal, almost confessional." Roman Jakobson, for instance, published an essay called "Co je poesie?", focused on Mácha and his Máj, in which he "calls attention to the stark contrast between the devotional reverence of Macha's love poem and the cynically coarse references to its heroine in the poet's diary." This problem is "solved" in reference to the demands of literary genre: "The formulae of love poetry encouraged, indeed urged upon the poet, the tone of adoration, of worship." Movie version The Czech short Vidíš-li poutníka ... made in 1966 by Jiří Gold and Vladimír Skalský is an experimental film about Máj quoting the poem, the poet's diary and his critiques. In 2008, Czech director F. A. Brabec made a movie, also called Máj, based on the poem. References External links May by K.H. Mácha (in Czech and English) May (translated by James Naughton) (in Czech and English) Czech poetry 1836 poems Works by Karel Hynek Mácha