The strophe is frequently of arbitrary length, yet when the poet has
once fixed the measure of his strophe he is supposed to preserve the
same measure throughout. The following are some of the strophic
arrangements in Spanish.
_Pareados_ are pairs of contiguous verses of the same number of
syllables, which rhyme[1] together in pairs.
[Footnote 1: By _rhyme_ hereafter shall be understood _consonantal_
rhyme, unless otherwise indicated.]
_Tercetos_ are a series of strophes, in the first of which the first
verse rhymes with the third, and, from the second strophe on, the
first and third verse of each successive strophe rhyme with the middle
verse of the preceding strophe. This form of verse is known in Italian
as _terza rima_. The composition ends with a _serventesio_ (see
below), of which the first and third verses rhyme with the middle
verse of the preceding strophe. The rhyme-scheme, then, would be a b
a, b c b, c d c, etc., d e d e.
_Cuartetas_, properly so called, are strophes of four eight-syllable
verses, of which the second verse rhymes (or is in assonance) with the
fourth. _Cuarteta_ is likewise a general name given to strophes of
four verses.
_Serventesios_ are strophes of four hendecasyllables, of which the
first rhymes or assonates with the third, and the second with the
fourth.
_Redondillas_ are strophes of four eight-syllable (or sometimes
six-syllable) verses which rhyme as follows: a b b a.
_Cuartetos_ are strophes of four hendecasyllables with the
rhyme-scheme a b b a. It is not customary to put a final word that is
_aguda_ in the uneven verses of compositions written in
hendecasyllables, or in verses that rhyme with them. Sometimes the
four verses are esdrújulos.
_Romances_, which are the most used of all forms, need not be written
in _cuartetas_. It is sufficient that the even verses be in assonance
and the uneven verses free. Romances, properly so called, are composed
of octosyllabic verses.
_Romancillos_ are romances composed of verses with less than eight
syllables.
_Romances heróicos_ are romances composed of hendecasyllabic verses,
all of which are _llanos_.
_Quintillas_ are combinations of five verses that have but two rhymes,
of which one occurs three times and the other twice. These verses may
rhyme at the will of the poet, provided that three verses having the
same rhyme do not follow each other successively. Of the possible
arrangements the following occur most frequently: a a b b a, a b b a
a, a b a b a, a b a b b.
_Sextinas_ are usually composed of six hendecasyllabic verses in which
a _serventesio_ is followed by a _pareado_.
The first, third, and fifth verses, however, may rhyme together, and
the second, fourth, and sixth.
There are also _sextinas_ which have the third and sixth verses with a
consonantal rhyme in words that are _agudas_, while the first and
second, and the fourth and fifth, form _pareados_.
In compositions written in _sextinas_ the succeeding strophes have the
same arrangement as the first.
Octavas:
_Octavas de Arte mayor_ are composed of eight dodecasyllables divided
into two equal hemistichs, with the accents on the second, fifth,
seventh, and eleventh syllables. The first verse rhymes with the
fourth, fifth, and eighth; the second with the third; and the sixth
with the seventh. Sometimes the second rhymes with the fourth, the
fifth with the eighth, the first with the third, the sixth with the
seventh.
_Octavas reales_ are strophes of eight hendecasyllabic verses
(_llanos_), of which the first six rhyme alternately and the last two
form a _pareado_.
When _octavas_ of this form have eight-syllable verses or less, they
are called _octavillas_.
_Octavas_ and _Octavillas Italianas_:
There are four variants, but all must have the fourth and eighth
verses _agudos_.
_First variant_: There is no _verso libre_, and the rhyme-scheme is a
b b c a d d c.
_Second variant_: The first and fifth verses are _libres_ and the
others rhyme 1 b b c 5 d d c. This form is the most used of all.
_Third variant_: All the verses are _libres_ except the fourth and
eighth.
_Fourth variant_: The rhymes have some other arrangement than those
mentioned in the three preceding cases.
_Décimas_ are strophes of ten octosyllabic verses with the
rhyme-scheme a b b a a c c d d c.
Thus far all the compositions treated have been strophes, of which all
the lines have the same number of syllables.
The most common strophes having an unequal number of syllables in the
component verses are as follows:
_Endechas reales_ are _cuartetas_ in which three heptasyllables are
followed by a hendecasyllable. The even verses are usually in
assonance, although the verses may have the rhyme-scheme a b a b.
The _Lira_ is a strophe of five verses, of which the first, third, and
fourth are heptasyllables, and the second and fifth are
hendecasyllables. The rhyme-scheme is a b a b b.
_Seguidillas_ are strophes composed of seven verses, three of which
are heptasyllables and four pentasyllables. The first, third, and
sixth verses are _libres_, the second and fourth have the same
assonance, and the fifth and seventh another distinct assonance.
_Silvas_ are series of strophes composed of hendecasyllables and
heptasyllables of unequal number and unevenly distributed with a free
arrangement of rhymes. Every verse should rhyme with another, yet
sometimes a verse is left unrhymed in long compositions.
The _Sonnet_ is taken from the Italian and has the same general forms.
It is written in hendecasyllables, and is always divided into four
parts--two quatrains and two tercets.
_Versos sueltos_ (blank verse) are verses which do not assonate with
the other contiguous verses, or with the nearest words in which the
sense demands a pause.
There are many other and very artificial forms that exist, but their
treatment would be irrelevant here. During the nineteenth century the
caprice of the poet invented many new forms of which the arrangement
is evident at a glance.
In closing, it should be said that this study of Spanish prosody,
which is primarily intended as an aid to the reading of Becquer's
poetry contained in this volume, is necessarily too brief to be
exhaustive, and many things are purposely omitted, as, for example,
certain unusual forms of verse such as the nine-syllable verse or that
of more than twelve syllables. Wherever it has been found convenient,
references have been made to Becquer's poems to illustrate points of
versification.
LEGENDS, TALES, AND POEMS
BY BECQUER