(1) Synalœpha is necessary where two or more unaccented vowels come
together (unless a weak unaccented vowel, or the conjunctions _ó_, _é_,
intervene); Meléndez Valdés:
Yo vi correr l[a a]soladora guerra
Por l[a Eu]rop[a i]nfeliz.
Quintana:
El od[io á u]n tiempo [y e]l amor unirse.
Calderón:
Aunqu[e e]l negoc[io he i]gnorado.
The synalœpha of five vowels is very rare.
(2) When the vowel at the end of the first word is accented, synalœpha
is natural; Quintana:
Se heló la risa y se torn[ó e]n gemido.
(3) When the accent is on the last word, synalœpha is the general rule,
especially when _e_ is the first vowel; _grand[e ho]mbre_, _est[a
a]lma_. Upon occasion hiatus sounds better, and especially so under a
strong accent.
(a) Hiatus is preferable when there is a close syntactical connection
between the vowel before the accent and the accented vowel, as, e.g.,
between the definite article or the possessive adjective and its
substantive, between the preposition and its object, etc.; Calderón:
Es sù àmo un caballero
De mucho valor y brío.
Lupercio de Argensola:
A èstos muerdas y á los otros ladres.
(b) The hiatus is most likely when the accented word is at the end of
the phrase or verse, or occupies a strongly accented position in the
verse; Meléndez Valdés:
¡Oh gran naturaleza!
¡Cuán magníficà ères!
Maury:
Tal de lò àlto tempestad deshecha.
(c) When the syntactical relation mentioned in (a) exists, but the
accented word is not in the position stated in (b), synalœpha may occur;
Martínez de la Rosa:
L[a o]da sublime entusiasmada canta.
(d) The feeling expressed is sometimes rendered best by synalœpha and
again by hiatus; thus, the action is accelerated and the energy
increased by synalœpha in:
Habl[a, ha]bla: ¿por qué callas? ¿qué recelas?
while in Garcilaso’s line (p. 72, l. 1)