Final answer:
The texts for madrigals are not generally drawn from fixed poetic meters. Madrigals are flexible in their use of poetic texts and often feature lyrics that emphasize expression and natural speech rhythms rather than adherence to a strict meter.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that the texts for madrigals are generally drawn from the fixed poetic meters is false. Madrigals, particularly those from the Renaissance era, often featured freely structured texts, like those of pastoral poems or sonnets, and did not strictly adhere to a single metrical pattern. However, the poetic texts could vary and at times did consist of more structured forms.
Meter in poetry refers to the rhythmical pattern created by the arrangement of syllables and the emphasis on them. Different poems use different types of meter to achieve various effects. Nevertheless, madrigals are known for their expressive lyrics and, in many cases, the music composition would follow the natural speech rhythms and emotions of the text, rather than being bound to a fixed meter. Thus, madrigals exhibit flexibility in their approach to verse structure, which allows the composer to match the musical flow with the textual meaning in a more nuanced manner.
Over time, madrigals evolved and became more elaborate, sometimes incorporating a variety of poetic forms and making use of word painting, a technique that musically portrays the meaning of the lyrics. In summary, while madrigals could use texts of fixed meters, it was not a general rule and poetic texts were often chosen for their expressive potential, not their metrical regularity.