To enjoy the work of so musical an artist as Espronceda, the student
must be able to read his verse in the original. This cannot be done
without some knowledge of the rules which govern the writing of Spanish
poetry. It therefore becomes necessary to give some account of the
elementary principles of Spanish prosody. This is not the place for a
complete treatment of the subject: only so much will be attempted as is
necessary for the intelligent comprehension of our author's writings. A
knowledge of English prosody will hinder rather than help the student;
for the Spanish poet obeys very different laws from those which govern
the writer of English verse.
The two essentials of Spanish poetry are (1) a fixed number of syllables
in each verse (by verse we mean a single line of poetry); (2) a
rhythmical arrangement of the syllables within the verse. Rime and
assonance are hardly less important, but are not strictly speaking
essential.