NOTES ON SPANISH PROSODY

1: For an account of this Galician poetry see Menéndez y Pelayo,l. c.,Prólogo, to volume III, and the article on Portuguese literature prepared for Groeber’sGrundriss der romanischen Philologie, vol. II, by C. M. de Vasconcellos.The fourteenth century is marked by the advent of a Castilian poet who writes in his native speech only. This is Juan Ruiz, Archpriest of Hita, the Villon of Spain and the most original Spanish writer of the whole mediæval period. His lyrics, interspersed among the narrative portions of hisCantares, have the note of personal experience. Much has been made of French influence upon Hita, but, when all is said and done, that influence is restricted to a small proportion of his work, and he remains eminently Spanish in manner, although, for his verse forms, he has had recourse to Galician-Provençal models. These same models were present to the mind of the Chancellor López de Ayala for the lyrics contained in his satiric and didacticRimado de Palacio, written in the second half of the fourteenth century, and in the fifteenth century they were followed by a whole host of verse writers.During the first half of the fifteenth century, literary activity was centered in the Court of John II., king of Castile. There, statesmen and courtiers of the type of Álvaro de Luna amused themselves by inditing verses in rivalry with thetrovadoreswho lived by the trade; and a considerable number of their productions,—especially those conceived according to the stereotyped Provençal manner, as adopted formerly in Galicia and in later times in Catalonia, and imported from both regions into Castile,—may be found in theCancioneroof Baena.By the side of this very artificial Court verse, maintaining as it does the earlier lyric tradition that harks back ultimately to the land beyond the Pyrenees, there appear, in the fifteenth century, two other main divisionsxviiiof poetry showing new forces brought to bear upon Castilian letters. Of these, the one is chiefly governed by an Italian influence, especially by that of Dante, from whoseDivina Commediait derives the allegorical tendency which is its distinguishing mark; the other reveals the influence of the Renaissance in the attention which it pays to the works of classic antiquity, translating and imitating them. These new influences find expression, above all, in the poems of Imperial, Mena and the Marquis of Santillana. Untrammelled by conventions, Jorge Manrique stands somewhat apart from these three poetic movements in his best work, the mournfully melodiousCoplason the death of his father.To the fifteenth and the following century belongs the great mass of short lyrico-epic poems or ballads, calledRomances—a term also applied to lyrics in quatrains having no epic character whatsoever. It was formerly believed that the ballads, most of which deal with subjects from the history of Spain and with the stories of Charlemagne and his peers, were of much greater antiquity; but the artificiality of the style and contents of the majority of them, and the introduction into them of elements of culture and courtliness much more recent than the times to which they relate, fix their composition as hardly earlier than the end of the fifteenth century. Still, the weight of authority ascribes to certain of them an early oral tradition, and even considers some as developed out of passages taken from the old epicCantares de gesta.With the sixteenth century, and as the famoussiglo de oro(1550-1680) drew near, the number of lyric poets increased greatly, and the Italianizing influences grew in importance. Boscán, Garcilaso de la Vega and Mendoza were the leading champions of the exotic measures, and they thoroughly naturalized in Spain the sonnet, the hendecasyllable, theottava rimaand kindred forms, some of which had already been introduced in the time of Imperialxixand Santillana. Certain spirits, such as Castillejo and Silvestre, opposed, though not consistently, the endeavors of these innovators; but toward the end of the sixteenth century the Italian manner triumphed, particularly in the works of Herrera and his school at Seville.Mysticism, ever a prominent characteristic of the Spanish temperament, finds most pleasing expression, during the sixteenth century, in the lyrics of a number of clerical writers. The most attractive of them all is Luis de León, deservedly ranked among the greatest Spanish lyric poets. In him an Italian influence, and the humanizing impress of the Renaissance are also visible.The Italian manner is henceforth, and throughout the seventeenth century, the dominant one in Spanish verse. It is unnecessary to mention the numerous lyrists who adopted it. The great masters of thesiglo de oro—Lope, Calderón, Cervantes—used the foreign measures, though, indeed, they constantly recurred to the older domestic forms, such as theromance, theredondillas, etc.At the very outset of the seventeenth century there manifested itself in Spanish poetry the vitiating influence of Góngora, a writer whose bombastic and obscure style, termed Gongorism after its originator, wrought the same harm in Spanish letters that Marinism wrought in Italy and Euphuism in England. The mannerisms of Góngora were imitated by later poets, so that his school persisted throughout the century, despite the reaction to sanity attempted by the Argensolas, and the satirist Quevedo. Even the virile Quevedo himself yielded finally to the torrent and wrote, in his later period, verse and prose as extravagant of metaphor and as obscure in style as any that ever came from the pen of Góngora.Thesiglo de orowas followed by a period of decline in things political, social and literary, which extended through a considerable portion of the eighteenth century. Poetasters abounded, good taste was at its lowest ebb.xxWhen matters were at about their worst in the world of letters—and the satire of Jorge Pitillas will indicate how great the decay was—Luzán inaugurated a reform movement by proposing, in hisArte poética, to subject all poetic production in Spanish to rigid rules such as Boileau had imposed upon classic French verse. Luzán’s ideas found favor and, despite the counter-efforts of García de la Huerta, a champion of the older Spanish methods and a bitter opponent of innovations, the disciples of Luzán began to compose dramas and lyrics according to the Gallic laws. The most important lyrist of the new movement was Meléndez-Valdés, about whom gathered the so-called Salamancan school of poets. Of these the best was Cienfuegos, who most nearly approached his master Meléndez in the skill with which he versified according to the precepts from abroad. The fabulists Samaniego and Iriarte also underwent French influence.The opening years of the nineteenth century witnessed a passionate outburst of Spanish patriotism, which found poetic utterance in the odes directed against the Napoleonic invader by the Tyrtæan poet Quintana, by his friend Gallego and other authors. Although leveled against the French, these compositions were framed in obedience to the canons of the French poetic lawgivers. The rules of French classicism prevailed also in the works of the members of a school made up mainly of young clerics, who had their centre at Seville. Lista and Blanco were among the number of these poets, whose use of French methods was tempered somewhat by their imitation of the manner of Herrera, the leader of the school of Seville that had flourished in the sixteenth and the early seventeenth century, and of that of his disciple Rioja.With the third decade of the century the wave of Romanticism began to sweep over the land. Triumphant with the drama of Rivas, it reached its apogee of lyrism in the verse of that writer and in the works of the Byronic poet Espronceda and ofZorrilla. Not the least attractivexxiamong the authors of the Romantic period are the Cuban poets Heredia and Avellaneda.The Romantic movement passed away and its unrestrained outpourings of the inner man ceased to be fashionable after the middle of the century. Realism, which has prevailed generally in literature since that time, is not too favorable to the composition of lyric verse, and the production of the latter during the last fifty years has been rather individual than characteristic of any school. Bécquer’s Heinesque strains have not been echoed by any one of note; no one has imitated successfully the poetic philosophizing of Campoamor, the winning poet so lately deceased; Núñez de Arce, the author of theGritos del combateand theVértigo, has alone found any considerable following; while the humanism of Valera and Menéndez y Pelayo raises their verse to an intellectual level above the comprehension of ordinary men. The gentle mysticism of León, of which reminiscences are found everywhere throughout the works of Valera, is suggested by the lyrics of Carolina Coronado, who is also of the school of St. Theresa.NOTES ON SPANISH PROSODYThe following rules are mainly drawn from the excellentOrtología y métricaof A. Bello, published in hisObras completas, Santiago de Chile, 1884, vol. V. Other treatises that may be consulted are E. Benot,Prosodia castellana y versificación, Madrid, 1892; F. Hanssen,Notas á la prosodia castellana, Santiago de Chile, 1900 (in theAnales de la Universidad);Id.,Miscelánea de versificación castellana,ibid., 1897;Id.,Zur lateinischen und romanischen Metrik, Valparaiso, 1901 (reprint from theVerhandlungen des deutschen Wissenschaftvereins, vol. IV, Santiago de Chile). Cf. also the remarks of E. Stengel in hisRomanische Verslehre(pubd. in GröbersGrundrissxxiider romanischen Philologie, vol. II, part I, Strasburg, 1893) and of G. Baist in hisSpanische Literatur(pubd.ibid., vol. II, part II, Strasburg, 1897).SYLLABIFICATIONThe Latin quantitative principle in versification has given way in Spanish to that of syllabification simply. Account is taken, as a rule, not of the greater or less length of the vowel in the syllabic, but of the number of the syllables in a line and of their rhythmical accent.(α) Vowels and Syllables Within a Word.A problem of importance is to determine, when two or more vowels come together, whether they form one syllable or more. The vowels are either strong (a,e,o) or weak (i,y,u), and they come together under three chief conditions; viz., (I) the accent of the word may be on one of the contiguous vowels; (II) it may be on a preceding syllable; (III) it may be on a syllable following them.I. Combinations of Two Vowels, one of which is Accented(1) If one of two strong vowels (a,e,o) coming together has the accent, they do not form a diphthong, and therefore do not count as a single syllable in the verse. Dissyllables, for example, areJaén,nao,leal,león; trisyllables areazahar(hmute),creemos,canoa.Exceptionally, the two strong vowels are contracted: e.g., Samaniego has contracted them in the hendecasyllable,El león, rey de los bosques poderoso,and Espronceda in a tetrasyllable,Y no hay playaSeacualquiera,etc.xxiiiThis contraction, calledsynæresis, is less harsh when the unaccented vowel ise. It is frequent, however, with the first two vowels ofahora.(2) If two vowels come together, the first strong (a,e,o) and the second weak (i,y,u), and if the accent rests on the strong vowel, they regularly form a diphthong and count as one syllable; e.g.,cauto,peine,feudo,convoy,rey,soy. The dissolution of this diphthong constitutes a very violent poetical license. When it occurs it is termeddiæresisand is sometimes marked by the dots so called; e.g.,glorïoso,suäve.(3) If the first of the contiguous vowels is strong, and the second weak and accented, they form separate syllables, as inraíz,baúl,roído. Contraction (synæresis) is rare and harsh in such cases: cf. Meléndez Valdés in the hendecasyllable,Caído del cielo al lodo que le afea.(4) If the first of the contiguous vowels is weak and the second strong, and the accent is on the weak vowel, they naturally constitute separate syllables, as indía,río,valúa,lloraríamos.Synæresis is more frequent and less harsh here than in(3); cf. Garcilaso:Que habíade ver con largo acabamiento.Espronceda:Los ríos su curso natural reprimen.(5) If the first of two contiguous vowels is weak and the second is strong and accented, the vowels sometimes form one syllable and sometimes do not. Etymological conditions often determine the case; thusfióis a dissyllable, since it comes from a Latin source (fidavit) in which theiwas in a syllable by itself, andbienis a monosyllable, since theiandeform a diphthong evolved out of a single Latin vowel (theĕofbĕne).xxivThe chief cases are as follows:(a)ièanduèfrom Latineandoform diphthongs absolutely indissoluble:diente,muerte.(b) In conjugation, analogy plays a part, andfiamosfollowsfiar(with theiand theain distinct syllables),cambiamosfollowscambiar(with theiand theain the same syllable).Synæresis readily takes place for vowels ordinarily in distinct syllables (fió, etc.); but diæresis hardly obtains for the vowels of a true diphthong (cambió, etc.).(c) The combinationsióandièare usually diphthongs in the terminations of the preterite indicative, the future subjunctive, the past tenses of the subjunctive, and the gerund, of verbs of the second and third conjugations: e.g.,murió,muriere,muriese,muriera,muriendo. Inrió,deslió,rieron,deslieron, the vowels seem to be considered as forming separate syllables, theibeing treated as part of the stem and not of the suffix.(d) The substantival ending-ión(acción, etc.) is generally a diphthong, and rarely suffers dissolution.(e) In derivatives analogy operates: e.g.,navieroandbriosowith theiriin a separate syllable because ofnavíoandbrío(cf.rule 4); butglorietaandambiciosowith a diphthong because ofgloriaandambición. Ordinarily, suchieandiocombinations permit of synæresis if they are properly dissyllabic, and if properly diphthongal they remain indissoluble. Still, adjectives in-i.osoand-u.ososometimes dissolve their diphthong; e.g., as in Espronceda:El majestüoso ríoSus claras ondas enluta,Garcilaso:El árbol de victoriaQue ciñe estrechamenteTu glorïosa frente.(6) Two contiguous weak vowels with the accent on the first of them form an indissoluble diphthong; e.g.,xxvmuy.Cuita,cuidoand related forms once accented theu: cf.p. 134, l. 20 where Cervantes hasdescuidoin assonance withconfuso. So also, Meléndez Valdés assonatedtumbaandcuidan.Viùdawas formerlyvíuda, and Tirso de Molina assonated it withLucía,pican, etc.(7) If the second of two contiguous weak vowels is accented, there is a diphthong sometimes indissoluble and sometimes dissoluble; e.g., indissoluble arefuíand, in modern usage,cuita,cuidoand their derivatives; dissoluble areruin,ruina,ruido,viudo. These later, however, readily admit synæresis.Analogy operates in verb forms; thusuis in a syllable apart inhuyo,arguyo, and so also inhuimos,argüimos(but in such cases synæresis is always possible). In cases of a repetition of the same vowel, synæresis hardly obtains; thereforepiísimoandduúnvirohave four syllables each.II. Combinations of Two Vowels with the Accent Preceding them(1) Two contiguous strong vowels after the accent naturally form two syllables: e.g.,Dánao,héroe,temiéndoos. Yet the poets usually make diphthongs of them; e.g., Moratín:Los héroes que la famaCoronó de laureles,and only exceptionally treat them as dissyllabic; e.g., Samaniego:Cuando á un héròè quierasCoronar con el lauro.(2) If the first of two contiguous vowels after the accent is strong and the second is weak, they form a diphthong, as inamabais,temierais. But it is frequently dissolved with ease, since in many cases the vowels stoodxxvioriginally in separate syllables; thusamábadesandtemiéradeswere good forms down to the seventeenth century.(3) If the first of two contiguous vowels after the accent is weak and the second strong, there is a diphthong usually indissoluble; e.g.,injuria,limpio,continuo. Dissolution is possible, however, whereuis the first vowel (as incontinuo,estatua).III. Combinations of Two Vowels before the Accent(1) Two contiguous strong vowels before the accent naturally form two syllables; e.g.,lealtad,roedorare properly trisyllabic. But synæresis is possible, especially whereeis one of the vowels.(2) If the first of two contiguous vowels before the accent is strong and the second is weak, they naturally form a diphthong;vaivén,peinado. They are regularly in distinct syllables, however, when the first vowel (excepta) is part of a prefix, as inpreinserto,prohijar,rehusado(prefixespre-,pro-,re-). Nevertheless, synæresis is here permitted, and the diphthong is normal whereais the vowel of the prefix, as inairado,ahumado.(3) Usage varies when of two contiguous vowels before the accent the first is weak and the second strong. The derivative follows the simplex; thus theiand theaare in separate syllables incriadorandcriaturabecause they so stand incriar, they form one syllable incambiamientobecause they do so incambiar. But synæresis is always possible where the diphthong does not already exist.(4) If both the contiguous vowels before the accent are weak, they naturally form a diphthong, as inciudad,cuidado. Derivatives of words of variable syllabification may imitate their simplex: thusviudomay be either dissyllabic or trisyllabic (cf.I, rule 7) andviudezhas the same liberty.xxviiIV. Combinations of Three or more Vowels(1) Three contiguous vowels with the accent on the first. These offer two possible forms of combinations, viz., one of two vowels with the first accented plus one of two vowels after the accent. To these apply the rules already stated. Thus inlóaoswe haveóain two syllables according toI, rule 1, andaowhich may be in two syllables byII, rule 1, therefore all three vowels may be in separate syllables. So, too, iniríaiswe haveíain two syllables byI, rule 4, andaiwhich forms a diphthong byII, rule 2, therefore the combinationíaiforms two syllables.(2) Three contiguous vowels with the accent on the second. There are two combinations possible, one of two vowels with the accent on the second and one of two vowels with the accent on the first. Apply the rules to these: e.g.,fiáoshasiáin two syllables byI, rule 5 bandáoin two syllables byI, rule 1, so that the combination is trisyllabic; again,cambiáoshasiá, a diphthong byI, rule 5 b, andáoin two syllables byI, rule 1, therefore the combination has two syllables;bueyhasue, a diphthong byI, rule 5 a, andey, a diphthong byI, rule 2, so that the whole combination is linked together and forms one syllable as a triphthong.(3) Three contiguous vowels with the accent on the last. The combinations are one of two vowels before the accent plus one of two vowels accented on the last. So, applying the rules torehuí, for example, we findeu(hmute) to be a dissyllable by the exception toIII, rule 2, anduíto be probably a dissyllable byI, rule 7, so that the combination probably forms three syllables.(4) Combinations of more than three vowels may be decomposed in a similar way. Thus,decaíaishasaíaiwith four contiguous vowels in three combinations, viz.,aí, a dissyllable byI, rule 3;ía, a dissyllable byI, rule 4;ai, a diphthong byII, rule 2, so that the combination has three integral elements and three syllables.xxviiiN.B.—Despite all these rules, it should be noted that the tendency of the language is toward synæresis.(β) The Value of Contiguous Vowels in Separate Words.Between the vowels of separate words there may occursynalœphaorhiatus. Synalœpha is the contracting into a single syllable of the vowels ending one word and those beginning the next word, as inhombre ilustre,soberbio edificio,Si á un infeliz la compasión se niega.The vowels thus contracted are still pronounced separately, except in cases of the repetition of the same vowel, where only a single prolonged sound is heard, as incasa ajena. As synalœpha may take place where synæresis would be impossible, it is governed by somewhat different rules.Hiatus—which corresponds to diæresis within a word—occurs when there is no contraction of the final vowel of one word and the initial vowel of the next; as inla hora,bella obra.The following general observations are necessary:(1) Mutehis disregarded in the verse and does not prevent synalœpha.(2) An unaccented weak vowel between two other vowels prevents synalœpha of these latter; thus,comercio y agricultura, in which theiois kept apart from theaby they, which itself forms a diphthong with thea; so alsoSevilla ú Oviedowith theain one syllable and theuoin another. Some writers have violated this rule, but most have observed it.(3)óprevents synalœpha and forms a syllable with the following vowel; Lupercio de Argensola:El orbe escucha atónito ó atento.(4) The conjunctionégenerally prevents synalœpha; Lupercio de Argensola:xxixPues he de retratarme, dónde ó cómoMe pueda yo estar viendoé imitando.Synalœpha is not wholly inadmissible.(5) Two similar contiguous vowels form synalœpha, and the sound is a single prolonged one:el voluble elemento.Three similar contiguous vowels may form synalœpha, but the combination is a harsh one; as in Maury:No su palanca á Arquímedes le diera.(6) A pause due to a break in sense does not prevent synalœpha.Rules for Synalœpha(1) Synalœpha is necessary where two or more unaccented vowels come together (unless a weak unaccented vowel, or the conjunctionsó,é, intervene); Meléndez Valdés:Yo vi correr la asoladora guerraPor la Europa infeliz.Quintana:El odio á un tiempoy el amor unirse.Calderón:Aunque el negocio he ignorado.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 tornó en gemido.(3) When the accent is on the last word, synalœpha is the general rule, especially wheneis the first vowel;grande hombre,esta alma. 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 definitexxxarticle or the possessive adjective and its substantive, between the preposition and its object, etc.; Calderón:Es sù àmo un caballeroDe 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:La oda 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:Habla, habla: ¿por quécallas? ¿qué recelas?while in Garcilaso’s line (p. 72, l. 1)Casi los paso y cuento unò á ùnothe hiatus marks the deliberation with which the act is performed.(4) When two accented vowels come together, the hiatus is much more pleasing than the synalœpha; Herrera:¡Oh yà ìsla católica potente!But synalœpha is tolerable when the second accent does not coincide with the end of the clause or with a necessary rhythmical accent; Herrera:¿Qué áspera condición de fiero pecho?xxxiQuintana:Será alma sin amor ni sentimiento.N.B.—In Old Spanish poetry hiatus prevailed and synalœpha was less common. Cf. F. Hanssen,Notas á la prosodia castellana(cited above).METREIn general the metre of a Spanish poetical composition is regulated by its pauses, accents, rhyme and, in most cases, its strophic arrangement.I. Pauses.—Of these there are three kinds:(1) thepausa mayor, or chief pause, ending the strophe;(2) thepausa media, or pause of moderate duration, separating the larger symmetrical parts of a strophe;(3) thepausa menor, or slight pause, separating one verse from another.Thepausa mayorgenerally coincides with the end of a sentence, or at least (as in sonnets, octaves, etc.) with that of the larger members or clauses of a sentence. Thepausa mediais more varied in its distribution, since perfect symmetry and continual uniformity would make the metre monotonous. Thepausa menorshould generally coincide with a break in the thought, butenjambement, or the violent carrying over of the thought from one line to another, is not unknown; cf.p. 97, l. 14.II. Accents and Rhythm.—The regular recurrence of accents in a verse gives it its rhythmical character. The rhythmical divisions of a Spanish verse are, as a rule, either dissyllabic or trisyllabic. When dissyllabic and accented on the first syllable, they are called trochaic:Dìme | puès, pas|tòr ga|rrìdo.When dissyllabic and accented on the second syllable, they are iambic:¿A dón|de vàs, | perdì|da?xxxiiWhen trisyllabic and accented on the first syllable, they are dactylic; Moratín:Sùban al|cèrco de Olimpo lu|ciènte.When trisyllabic and accented on the second syllable, they are amphibrachs; Mena:Con crìnes | tendìdos | ardèr los | comètas.When trisyllabic and accented on the third syllable, they are anapæsts; Iriarte:De sus hì|jos la tòr|pe avutàr|da.The terms given marked in Latin a quantitative division into feet, while in Spanish they denote only accentual conditions.A syllable may be lacking at the end of a verse (then called catalectic); trochaic:Yà los | càmpos | òrna A|bril;in one of amphibrachs:Derràma | su páli|da lùz;dactylic:Hìnche los | àires ce|lèste armo|nía;dactylic with two syllables lacking:Sè oye á lo | lèjos tre|mèndo fra|gòr.In an iambic or an anapæstic verse, there may be one or two unaccented syllables in excess; in a verse of trochees or amphibrachs, one:¿A dón|de vàs | perdì|da?Suspì|ra el blàn|do cé|firo.Sacudièn|do las sèl|vas el á|brego.Tiènde el | mànto | nòche | lóbre|ga.El nìdo | desièrto | de míse|ra tórto|la.But all verses are not subjected rigorously to rhythmical division according to the types explained. In trochaic and iambic verses not exceeding eight syllables in lengthxxxiiiand not intended for singing, no accent is obligatory except that of the last division (or foot). The rhythmical nature of the composition then depends upon the regular recurrence of this final accent.Not all accents satisfy the rhythmical requirements in a verse. Insufficient accents are those of the prepositions that have one (contra,para, etc.), those of the demonstratives before their nouns, those of the forms of the indefinite article (the definite article has none), those of monosyllabic adverbs before the words that they modify (bien alojado, etc.). Moreover, the verse is impaired when a strong, accidental accent precedes immediately a necessary accent, as inMis ruegos cruèl òye.Cæsura.—In the longer verses, a necessary pause or break in a determined place is called the cæsura. The cæsura requires a strong accent on the word preceding it, and does not prevent synalœpha; Garcilaso:¿Ves el furor | del animoso vientoEmbravecido | en la fragosa sierra?The different kinds of verse.—N.B. In naming Spanish verse forms, all syllables, even those after the final accent, are taken into account.The longesttrochaicverse is the octosyllabic. In its typical form it has four accents, viz., on the first, third, fifth and seventh syllables:Bràma, | bùfa, es|càrba,| huèle.But only one of the rhythmical accents is necessary, viz., that on the seventh syllable; Heredia:Ya tu familia gozòsaSe prepara, amado pàdre.For the purposes of singing, the third syllable should be stressed as well as the seventh.Compositions in six-syllabled verses, with the accent on the fifth syllable (hexasyllables), may have the trochaicxxxivmetre, but are likely to intermingle the trochees with amphibrachs; e.g., Espronceda:Músicas lejànas;Trochees.De enlutado pàrcheRedòble monótono;Amphibrachs.Cercàno huracán.Four-syllabled (tetrasyllabic) trochaic lines may accent the first and third syllables, but only the accent on the third syllable is requisite; Iriarte:A una mònaMuy taimàdaDìjo un díaCièrta urràca.When it alternates with other longer verses, the four-syllabled trochaic is called theverso quebrado.Iambics.—The longest iambic verse is the alexandrine of the French type. It has thirteen syllables and a central cæsura dividing it into hemistichs. The first hemistich may end in a stressed vowel or have an unaccented vowel after the stress, but in the latter case synalœpha must join the unaccented vowel to the following hemistich; Iriarte:En cierta catedral | una campana habíaQue sólo se tocaba | algún solemne día.Con el más recio son, | con pausado compás,Cuatro golpes ó tres | solía dar no más.N.B.—When both hemistichs end in an accented vowel, the line has but twelve syllables. Sometimes the alexandrine adapts itself to the anapæstic metre, as in Iriarte:Que despàcio y muy rècio | el dichòso esquilón.At all events, the only necessary rhythmical accents are those on the sixth and the twelfth syllable. An older form of the alexandrine also existed (see below).The eleven-syllabled iambic line is called the heroicxxxvverse, from its use in epics, or the hendecasyllable (see below).The nine-syllabled iambic verse is of French origin. The perfect type, with accents on the second, fourth, sixth and eighth syllables, is seen inNo dè jamás mi dùlce pàtriaLa nòble frènte al yùgo vìl.Only the accent on the eighth syllable is necessary; e.g., Iriarte:Tú, manguito, en invierno sìrves,En verano vas á un rincón.But in songs the fourth syllable should also be stressed.The seven-syllabled iambic (the heptasyllabic or anacreontic verse) has a necessary accent on the sixth syllable; Villegas:Quiero cantar de Càdmo.The perfect type is seen in Villegas:Las cuèrdas mùdo aprìsa.In songs the fourth syllable is also stressed. Sometimes the anapæst supplants the iambic, e.g., Villegas:Sólo cànta mi lìra.In older Spanish, the alexandrine often consisted of two seven-syllabled iambic verses or half-lines, separated by the cæsura. There might be one or two unaccented syllables after the stressed sixth, and the unaccented syllables did not coalesce with the second half-line, since hiatus, rather than synalœpha, prevailed in Old Spanish; e.g., Berceo:En esta romería | habemos un buen prado.El fruto de los árbores | era dulze sabrìdo.Some modern poets have imitated this alexandrine, avoiding the hiatus, however.The five-syllabled (pentasyllabic) iambic verse has axxxvinecessary stress on the fourth syllable. In this line the iambics easily yield to dactyls; e.g., Moratín:

The fourteenth century is marked by the advent of a Castilian poet who writes in his native speech only. This is Juan Ruiz, Archpriest of Hita, the Villon of Spain and the most original Spanish writer of the whole mediæval period. His lyrics, interspersed among the narrative portions of hisCantares, have the note of personal experience. Much has been made of French influence upon Hita, but, when all is said and done, that influence is restricted to a small proportion of his work, and he remains eminently Spanish in manner, although, for his verse forms, he has had recourse to Galician-Provençal models. These same models were present to the mind of the Chancellor López de Ayala for the lyrics contained in his satiric and didacticRimado de Palacio, written in the second half of the fourteenth century, and in the fifteenth century they were followed by a whole host of verse writers.

During the first half of the fifteenth century, literary activity was centered in the Court of John II., king of Castile. There, statesmen and courtiers of the type of Álvaro de Luna amused themselves by inditing verses in rivalry with thetrovadoreswho lived by the trade; and a considerable number of their productions,—especially those conceived according to the stereotyped Provençal manner, as adopted formerly in Galicia and in later times in Catalonia, and imported from both regions into Castile,—may be found in theCancioneroof Baena.

By the side of this very artificial Court verse, maintaining as it does the earlier lyric tradition that harks back ultimately to the land beyond the Pyrenees, there appear, in the fifteenth century, two other main divisionsxviiiof poetry showing new forces brought to bear upon Castilian letters. Of these, the one is chiefly governed by an Italian influence, especially by that of Dante, from whoseDivina Commediait derives the allegorical tendency which is its distinguishing mark; the other reveals the influence of the Renaissance in the attention which it pays to the works of classic antiquity, translating and imitating them. These new influences find expression, above all, in the poems of Imperial, Mena and the Marquis of Santillana. Untrammelled by conventions, Jorge Manrique stands somewhat apart from these three poetic movements in his best work, the mournfully melodiousCoplason the death of his father.

To the fifteenth and the following century belongs the great mass of short lyrico-epic poems or ballads, calledRomances—a term also applied to lyrics in quatrains having no epic character whatsoever. It was formerly believed that the ballads, most of which deal with subjects from the history of Spain and with the stories of Charlemagne and his peers, were of much greater antiquity; but the artificiality of the style and contents of the majority of them, and the introduction into them of elements of culture and courtliness much more recent than the times to which they relate, fix their composition as hardly earlier than the end of the fifteenth century. Still, the weight of authority ascribes to certain of them an early oral tradition, and even considers some as developed out of passages taken from the old epicCantares de gesta.

With the sixteenth century, and as the famoussiglo de oro(1550-1680) drew near, the number of lyric poets increased greatly, and the Italianizing influences grew in importance. Boscán, Garcilaso de la Vega and Mendoza were the leading champions of the exotic measures, and they thoroughly naturalized in Spain the sonnet, the hendecasyllable, theottava rimaand kindred forms, some of which had already been introduced in the time of Imperialxixand Santillana. Certain spirits, such as Castillejo and Silvestre, opposed, though not consistently, the endeavors of these innovators; but toward the end of the sixteenth century the Italian manner triumphed, particularly in the works of Herrera and his school at Seville.

Mysticism, ever a prominent characteristic of the Spanish temperament, finds most pleasing expression, during the sixteenth century, in the lyrics of a number of clerical writers. The most attractive of them all is Luis de León, deservedly ranked among the greatest Spanish lyric poets. In him an Italian influence, and the humanizing impress of the Renaissance are also visible.

The Italian manner is henceforth, and throughout the seventeenth century, the dominant one in Spanish verse. It is unnecessary to mention the numerous lyrists who adopted it. The great masters of thesiglo de oro—Lope, Calderón, Cervantes—used the foreign measures, though, indeed, they constantly recurred to the older domestic forms, such as theromance, theredondillas, etc.

At the very outset of the seventeenth century there manifested itself in Spanish poetry the vitiating influence of Góngora, a writer whose bombastic and obscure style, termed Gongorism after its originator, wrought the same harm in Spanish letters that Marinism wrought in Italy and Euphuism in England. The mannerisms of Góngora were imitated by later poets, so that his school persisted throughout the century, despite the reaction to sanity attempted by the Argensolas, and the satirist Quevedo. Even the virile Quevedo himself yielded finally to the torrent and wrote, in his later period, verse and prose as extravagant of metaphor and as obscure in style as any that ever came from the pen of Góngora.

Thesiglo de orowas followed by a period of decline in things political, social and literary, which extended through a considerable portion of the eighteenth century. Poetasters abounded, good taste was at its lowest ebb.xxWhen matters were at about their worst in the world of letters—and the satire of Jorge Pitillas will indicate how great the decay was—Luzán inaugurated a reform movement by proposing, in hisArte poética, to subject all poetic production in Spanish to rigid rules such as Boileau had imposed upon classic French verse. Luzán’s ideas found favor and, despite the counter-efforts of García de la Huerta, a champion of the older Spanish methods and a bitter opponent of innovations, the disciples of Luzán began to compose dramas and lyrics according to the Gallic laws. The most important lyrist of the new movement was Meléndez-Valdés, about whom gathered the so-called Salamancan school of poets. Of these the best was Cienfuegos, who most nearly approached his master Meléndez in the skill with which he versified according to the precepts from abroad. The fabulists Samaniego and Iriarte also underwent French influence.

The opening years of the nineteenth century witnessed a passionate outburst of Spanish patriotism, which found poetic utterance in the odes directed against the Napoleonic invader by the Tyrtæan poet Quintana, by his friend Gallego and other authors. Although leveled against the French, these compositions were framed in obedience to the canons of the French poetic lawgivers. The rules of French classicism prevailed also in the works of the members of a school made up mainly of young clerics, who had their centre at Seville. Lista and Blanco were among the number of these poets, whose use of French methods was tempered somewhat by their imitation of the manner of Herrera, the leader of the school of Seville that had flourished in the sixteenth and the early seventeenth century, and of that of his disciple Rioja.

With the third decade of the century the wave of Romanticism began to sweep over the land. Triumphant with the drama of Rivas, it reached its apogee of lyrism in the verse of that writer and in the works of the Byronic poet Espronceda and ofZorrilla. Not the least attractivexxiamong the authors of the Romantic period are the Cuban poets Heredia and Avellaneda.

The Romantic movement passed away and its unrestrained outpourings of the inner man ceased to be fashionable after the middle of the century. Realism, which has prevailed generally in literature since that time, is not too favorable to the composition of lyric verse, and the production of the latter during the last fifty years has been rather individual than characteristic of any school. Bécquer’s Heinesque strains have not been echoed by any one of note; no one has imitated successfully the poetic philosophizing of Campoamor, the winning poet so lately deceased; Núñez de Arce, the author of theGritos del combateand theVértigo, has alone found any considerable following; while the humanism of Valera and Menéndez y Pelayo raises their verse to an intellectual level above the comprehension of ordinary men. The gentle mysticism of León, of which reminiscences are found everywhere throughout the works of Valera, is suggested by the lyrics of Carolina Coronado, who is also of the school of St. Theresa.

The following rules are mainly drawn from the excellentOrtología y métricaof A. Bello, published in hisObras completas, Santiago de Chile, 1884, vol. V. Other treatises that may be consulted are E. Benot,Prosodia castellana y versificación, Madrid, 1892; F. Hanssen,Notas á la prosodia castellana, Santiago de Chile, 1900 (in theAnales de la Universidad);Id.,Miscelánea de versificación castellana,ibid., 1897;Id.,Zur lateinischen und romanischen Metrik, Valparaiso, 1901 (reprint from theVerhandlungen des deutschen Wissenschaftvereins, vol. IV, Santiago de Chile). Cf. also the remarks of E. Stengel in hisRomanische Verslehre(pubd. in GröbersGrundrissxxiider romanischen Philologie, vol. II, part I, Strasburg, 1893) and of G. Baist in hisSpanische Literatur(pubd.ibid., vol. II, part II, Strasburg, 1897).

The Latin quantitative principle in versification has given way in Spanish to that of syllabification simply. Account is taken, as a rule, not of the greater or less length of the vowel in the syllabic, but of the number of the syllables in a line and of their rhythmical accent.

A problem of importance is to determine, when two or more vowels come together, whether they form one syllable or more. The vowels are either strong (a,e,o) or weak (i,y,u), and they come together under three chief conditions; viz., (I) the accent of the word may be on one of the contiguous vowels; (II) it may be on a preceding syllable; (III) it may be on a syllable following them.

(1) If one of two strong vowels (a,e,o) coming together has the accent, they do not form a diphthong, and therefore do not count as a single syllable in the verse. Dissyllables, for example, areJaén,nao,leal,león; trisyllables areazahar(hmute),creemos,canoa.

Exceptionally, the two strong vowels are contracted: e.g., Samaniego has contracted them in the hendecasyllable,

El león, rey de los bosques poderoso,

and Espronceda in a tetrasyllable,

Y no hay playaSeacualquiera,etc.

Y no hay playa

Seacualquiera,etc.

This contraction, calledsynæresis, is less harsh when the unaccented vowel ise. It is frequent, however, with the first two vowels ofahora.

(2) If two vowels come together, the first strong (a,e,o) and the second weak (i,y,u), and if the accent rests on the strong vowel, they regularly form a diphthong and count as one syllable; e.g.,cauto,peine,feudo,convoy,rey,soy. The dissolution of this diphthong constitutes a very violent poetical license. When it occurs it is termeddiæresisand is sometimes marked by the dots so called; e.g.,glorïoso,suäve.

(3) If the first of the contiguous vowels is strong, and the second weak and accented, they form separate syllables, as inraíz,baúl,roído. Contraction (synæresis) is rare and harsh in such cases: cf. Meléndez Valdés in the hendecasyllable,

Caído del cielo al lodo que le afea.

(4) If the first of the contiguous vowels is weak and the second strong, and the accent is on the weak vowel, they naturally constitute separate syllables, as indía,río,valúa,lloraríamos.

Synæresis is more frequent and less harsh here than in(3); cf. Garcilaso:

Que habíade ver con largo acabamiento.

Espronceda:

Los ríos su curso natural reprimen.

(5) If the first of two contiguous vowels is weak and the second is strong and accented, the vowels sometimes form one syllable and sometimes do not. Etymological conditions often determine the case; thusfióis a dissyllable, since it comes from a Latin source (fidavit) in which theiwas in a syllable by itself, andbienis a monosyllable, since theiandeform a diphthong evolved out of a single Latin vowel (theĕofbĕne).

The chief cases are as follows:

(a)ièanduèfrom Latineandoform diphthongs absolutely indissoluble:diente,muerte.

(b) In conjugation, analogy plays a part, andfiamosfollowsfiar(with theiand theain distinct syllables),cambiamosfollowscambiar(with theiand theain the same syllable).

Synæresis readily takes place for vowels ordinarily in distinct syllables (fió, etc.); but diæresis hardly obtains for the vowels of a true diphthong (cambió, etc.).

(c) The combinationsióandièare usually diphthongs in the terminations of the preterite indicative, the future subjunctive, the past tenses of the subjunctive, and the gerund, of verbs of the second and third conjugations: e.g.,murió,muriere,muriese,muriera,muriendo. Inrió,deslió,rieron,deslieron, the vowels seem to be considered as forming separate syllables, theibeing treated as part of the stem and not of the suffix.

(d) The substantival ending-ión(acción, etc.) is generally a diphthong, and rarely suffers dissolution.

(e) In derivatives analogy operates: e.g.,navieroandbriosowith theiriin a separate syllable because ofnavíoandbrío(cf.rule 4); butglorietaandambiciosowith a diphthong because ofgloriaandambición. Ordinarily, suchieandiocombinations permit of synæresis if they are properly dissyllabic, and if properly diphthongal they remain indissoluble. Still, adjectives in-i.osoand-u.ososometimes dissolve their diphthong; e.g., as in Espronceda:

El majestüoso ríoSus claras ondas enluta,

El majestüoso río

Sus claras ondas enluta,

Garcilaso:

El árbol de victoriaQue ciñe estrechamenteTu glorïosa frente.

El árbol de victoria

Que ciñe estrechamente

Tu glorïosa frente.

(6) Two contiguous weak vowels with the accent on the first of them form an indissoluble diphthong; e.g.,xxvmuy.Cuita,cuidoand related forms once accented theu: cf.p. 134, l. 20 where Cervantes hasdescuidoin assonance withconfuso. So also, Meléndez Valdés assonatedtumbaandcuidan.Viùdawas formerlyvíuda, and Tirso de Molina assonated it withLucía,pican, etc.

(7) If the second of two contiguous weak vowels is accented, there is a diphthong sometimes indissoluble and sometimes dissoluble; e.g., indissoluble arefuíand, in modern usage,cuita,cuidoand their derivatives; dissoluble areruin,ruina,ruido,viudo. These later, however, readily admit synæresis.

Analogy operates in verb forms; thusuis in a syllable apart inhuyo,arguyo, and so also inhuimos,argüimos(but in such cases synæresis is always possible). In cases of a repetition of the same vowel, synæresis hardly obtains; thereforepiísimoandduúnvirohave four syllables each.

(1) Two contiguous strong vowels after the accent naturally form two syllables: e.g.,Dánao,héroe,temiéndoos. Yet the poets usually make diphthongs of them; e.g., Moratín:

Los héroes que la famaCoronó de laureles,

Los héroes que la fama

Coronó de laureles,

and only exceptionally treat them as dissyllabic; e.g., Samaniego:

Cuando á un héròè quierasCoronar con el lauro.

Cuando á un héròè quieras

Coronar con el lauro.

(2) If the first of two contiguous vowels after the accent is strong and the second is weak, they form a diphthong, as inamabais,temierais. But it is frequently dissolved with ease, since in many cases the vowels stoodxxvioriginally in separate syllables; thusamábadesandtemiéradeswere good forms down to the seventeenth century.

(3) If the first of two contiguous vowels after the accent is weak and the second strong, there is a diphthong usually indissoluble; e.g.,injuria,limpio,continuo. Dissolution is possible, however, whereuis the first vowel (as incontinuo,estatua).

(1) Two contiguous strong vowels before the accent naturally form two syllables; e.g.,lealtad,roedorare properly trisyllabic. But synæresis is possible, especially whereeis one of the vowels.

(2) If the first of two contiguous vowels before the accent is strong and the second is weak, they naturally form a diphthong;vaivén,peinado. They are regularly in distinct syllables, however, when the first vowel (excepta) is part of a prefix, as inpreinserto,prohijar,rehusado(prefixespre-,pro-,re-). Nevertheless, synæresis is here permitted, and the diphthong is normal whereais the vowel of the prefix, as inairado,ahumado.

(3) Usage varies when of two contiguous vowels before the accent the first is weak and the second strong. The derivative follows the simplex; thus theiand theaare in separate syllables incriadorandcriaturabecause they so stand incriar, they form one syllable incambiamientobecause they do so incambiar. But synæresis is always possible where the diphthong does not already exist.

(4) If both the contiguous vowels before the accent are weak, they naturally form a diphthong, as inciudad,cuidado. Derivatives of words of variable syllabification may imitate their simplex: thusviudomay be either dissyllabic or trisyllabic (cf.I, rule 7) andviudezhas the same liberty.

(1) Three contiguous vowels with the accent on the first. These offer two possible forms of combinations, viz., one of two vowels with the first accented plus one of two vowels after the accent. To these apply the rules already stated. Thus inlóaoswe haveóain two syllables according toI, rule 1, andaowhich may be in two syllables byII, rule 1, therefore all three vowels may be in separate syllables. So, too, iniríaiswe haveíain two syllables byI, rule 4, andaiwhich forms a diphthong byII, rule 2, therefore the combinationíaiforms two syllables.

(2) Three contiguous vowels with the accent on the second. There are two combinations possible, one of two vowels with the accent on the second and one of two vowels with the accent on the first. Apply the rules to these: e.g.,fiáoshasiáin two syllables byI, rule 5 bandáoin two syllables byI, rule 1, so that the combination is trisyllabic; again,cambiáoshasiá, a diphthong byI, rule 5 b, andáoin two syllables byI, rule 1, therefore the combination has two syllables;bueyhasue, a diphthong byI, rule 5 a, andey, a diphthong byI, rule 2, so that the whole combination is linked together and forms one syllable as a triphthong.

(3) Three contiguous vowels with the accent on the last. The combinations are one of two vowels before the accent plus one of two vowels accented on the last. So, applying the rules torehuí, for example, we findeu(hmute) to be a dissyllable by the exception toIII, rule 2, anduíto be probably a dissyllable byI, rule 7, so that the combination probably forms three syllables.

(4) Combinations of more than three vowels may be decomposed in a similar way. Thus,decaíaishasaíaiwith four contiguous vowels in three combinations, viz.,aí, a dissyllable byI, rule 3;ía, a dissyllable byI, rule 4;ai, a diphthong byII, rule 2, so that the combination has three integral elements and three syllables.

N.B.—Despite all these rules, it should be noted that the tendency of the language is toward synæresis.

Between the vowels of separate words there may occursynalœphaorhiatus. Synalœpha is the contracting into a single syllable of the vowels ending one word and those beginning the next word, as inhombre ilustre,soberbio edificio,Si á un infeliz la compasión se niega.

The vowels thus contracted are still pronounced separately, except in cases of the repetition of the same vowel, where only a single prolonged sound is heard, as incasa ajena. As synalœpha may take place where synæresis would be impossible, it is governed by somewhat different rules.

Hiatus—which corresponds to diæresis within a word—occurs when there is no contraction of the final vowel of one word and the initial vowel of the next; as inla hora,bella obra.

The following general observations are necessary:

(1) Mutehis disregarded in the verse and does not prevent synalœpha.

(2) An unaccented weak vowel between two other vowels prevents synalœpha of these latter; thus,comercio y agricultura, in which theiois kept apart from theaby they, which itself forms a diphthong with thea; so alsoSevilla ú Oviedowith theain one syllable and theuoin another. Some writers have violated this rule, but most have observed it.

(3)óprevents synalœpha and forms a syllable with the following vowel; Lupercio de Argensola:

El orbe escucha atónito ó atento.

(4) The conjunctionégenerally prevents synalœpha; Lupercio de Argensola:

Pues he de retratarme, dónde ó cómoMe pueda yo estar viendoé imitando.

Pues he de retratarme, dónde ó cómo

Me pueda yo estar viendoé imitando.

Synalœpha is not wholly inadmissible.

(5) Two similar contiguous vowels form synalœpha, and the sound is a single prolonged one:el voluble elemento.

Three similar contiguous vowels may form synalœpha, but the combination is a harsh one; as in Maury:

No su palanca á Arquímedes le diera.

(6) A pause due to a break in sense does not prevent synalœpha.

(1) Synalœpha is necessary where two or more unaccented vowels come together (unless a weak unaccented vowel, or the conjunctionsó,é, intervene); Meléndez Valdés:

Yo vi correr la asoladora guerraPor la Europa infeliz.

Yo vi correr la asoladora guerra

Por la Europa infeliz.

Quintana:

El odio á un tiempoy el amor unirse.

Calderón:

Aunque el negocio he ignorado.

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 tornó en gemido.

(3) When the accent is on the last word, synalœpha is the general rule, especially wheneis the first vowel;grande hombre,esta alma. 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 definitexxxarticle or the possessive adjective and its substantive, between the preposition and its object, etc.; Calderón:

Es sù àmo un caballeroDe mucho valor y brío.

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!

¡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:

La oda 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:

Habla, habla: ¿por quécallas? ¿qué recelas?

while in Garcilaso’s line (p. 72, l. 1)

Casi los paso y cuento unò á ùno

the hiatus marks the deliberation with which the act is performed.

(4) When two accented vowels come together, the hiatus is much more pleasing than the synalœpha; Herrera:

¡Oh yà ìsla católica potente!

But synalœpha is tolerable when the second accent does not coincide with the end of the clause or with a necessary rhythmical accent; Herrera:

¿Qué áspera condición de fiero pecho?

Quintana:

Será alma sin amor ni sentimiento.

N.B.—In Old Spanish poetry hiatus prevailed and synalœpha was less common. Cf. F. Hanssen,Notas á la prosodia castellana(cited above).

In general the metre of a Spanish poetical composition is regulated by its pauses, accents, rhyme and, in most cases, its strophic arrangement.

I. Pauses.—Of these there are three kinds:

(1) thepausa mayor, or chief pause, ending the strophe;

(2) thepausa media, or pause of moderate duration, separating the larger symmetrical parts of a strophe;

(3) thepausa menor, or slight pause, separating one verse from another.

Thepausa mayorgenerally coincides with the end of a sentence, or at least (as in sonnets, octaves, etc.) with that of the larger members or clauses of a sentence. Thepausa mediais more varied in its distribution, since perfect symmetry and continual uniformity would make the metre monotonous. Thepausa menorshould generally coincide with a break in the thought, butenjambement, or the violent carrying over of the thought from one line to another, is not unknown; cf.p. 97, l. 14.

II. Accents and Rhythm.—The regular recurrence of accents in a verse gives it its rhythmical character. The rhythmical divisions of a Spanish verse are, as a rule, either dissyllabic or trisyllabic. When dissyllabic and accented on the first syllable, they are called trochaic:

Dìme | puès, pas|tòr ga|rrìdo.

When dissyllabic and accented on the second syllable, they are iambic:

¿A dón|de vàs, | perdì|da?

When trisyllabic and accented on the first syllable, they are dactylic; Moratín:

Sùban al|cèrco de Olimpo lu|ciènte.

When trisyllabic and accented on the second syllable, they are amphibrachs; Mena:

Con crìnes | tendìdos | ardèr los | comètas.

When trisyllabic and accented on the third syllable, they are anapæsts; Iriarte:

De sus hì|jos la tòr|pe avutàr|da.

The terms given marked in Latin a quantitative division into feet, while in Spanish they denote only accentual conditions.

A syllable may be lacking at the end of a verse (then called catalectic); trochaic:

Yà los | càmpos | òrna A|bril;

in one of amphibrachs:

Derràma | su páli|da lùz;

dactylic:

Hìnche los | àires ce|lèste armo|nía;

dactylic with two syllables lacking:

Sè oye á lo | lèjos tre|mèndo fra|gòr.

In an iambic or an anapæstic verse, there may be one or two unaccented syllables in excess; in a verse of trochees or amphibrachs, one:

¿A dón|de vàs | perdì|da?

Suspì|ra el blàn|do cé|firo.

Sacudièn|do las sèl|vas el á|brego.

Tiènde el | mànto | nòche | lóbre|ga.

El nìdo | desièrto | de míse|ra tórto|la.

But all verses are not subjected rigorously to rhythmical division according to the types explained. In trochaic and iambic verses not exceeding eight syllables in lengthxxxiiiand not intended for singing, no accent is obligatory except that of the last division (or foot). The rhythmical nature of the composition then depends upon the regular recurrence of this final accent.

Not all accents satisfy the rhythmical requirements in a verse. Insufficient accents are those of the prepositions that have one (contra,para, etc.), those of the demonstratives before their nouns, those of the forms of the indefinite article (the definite article has none), those of monosyllabic adverbs before the words that they modify (bien alojado, etc.). Moreover, the verse is impaired when a strong, accidental accent precedes immediately a necessary accent, as inMis ruegos cruèl òye.

Cæsura.—In the longer verses, a necessary pause or break in a determined place is called the cæsura. The cæsura requires a strong accent on the word preceding it, and does not prevent synalœpha; Garcilaso:

¿Ves el furor | del animoso vientoEmbravecido | en la fragosa sierra?

¿Ves el furor | del animoso viento

Embravecido | en la fragosa sierra?

The different kinds of verse.—N.B. In naming Spanish verse forms, all syllables, even those after the final accent, are taken into account.

The longesttrochaicverse is the octosyllabic. In its typical form it has four accents, viz., on the first, third, fifth and seventh syllables:

Bràma, | bùfa, es|càrba,| huèle.

But only one of the rhythmical accents is necessary, viz., that on the seventh syllable; Heredia:

Ya tu familia gozòsaSe prepara, amado pàdre.

Ya tu familia gozòsa

Se prepara, amado pàdre.

For the purposes of singing, the third syllable should be stressed as well as the seventh.

Compositions in six-syllabled verses, with the accent on the fifth syllable (hexasyllables), may have the trochaicxxxivmetre, but are likely to intermingle the trochees with amphibrachs; e.g., Espronceda:

Four-syllabled (tetrasyllabic) trochaic lines may accent the first and third syllables, but only the accent on the third syllable is requisite; Iriarte:

A una mònaMuy taimàdaDìjo un díaCièrta urràca.

A una mòna

Muy taimàda

Dìjo un día

Cièrta urràca.

When it alternates with other longer verses, the four-syllabled trochaic is called theverso quebrado.

Iambics.—The longest iambic verse is the alexandrine of the French type. It has thirteen syllables and a central cæsura dividing it into hemistichs. The first hemistich may end in a stressed vowel or have an unaccented vowel after the stress, but in the latter case synalœpha must join the unaccented vowel to the following hemistich; Iriarte:

En cierta catedral | una campana habíaQue sólo se tocaba | algún solemne día.Con el más recio son, | con pausado compás,Cuatro golpes ó tres | solía dar no más.

En cierta catedral | una campana había

Que sólo se tocaba | algún solemne día.

Con el más recio son, | con pausado compás,

Cuatro golpes ó tres | solía dar no más.

N.B.—When both hemistichs end in an accented vowel, the line has but twelve syllables. Sometimes the alexandrine adapts itself to the anapæstic metre, as in Iriarte:

Que despàcio y muy rècio | el dichòso esquilón.

At all events, the only necessary rhythmical accents are those on the sixth and the twelfth syllable. An older form of the alexandrine also existed (see below).

The eleven-syllabled iambic line is called the heroicxxxvverse, from its use in epics, or the hendecasyllable (see below).

The nine-syllabled iambic verse is of French origin. The perfect type, with accents on the second, fourth, sixth and eighth syllables, is seen in

No dè jamás mi dùlce pàtriaLa nòble frènte al yùgo vìl.

No dè jamás mi dùlce pàtria

La nòble frènte al yùgo vìl.

Only the accent on the eighth syllable is necessary; e.g., Iriarte:

Tú, manguito, en invierno sìrves,En verano vas á un rincón.

Tú, manguito, en invierno sìrves,

En verano vas á un rincón.

But in songs the fourth syllable should also be stressed.

The seven-syllabled iambic (the heptasyllabic or anacreontic verse) has a necessary accent on the sixth syllable; Villegas:

Quiero cantar de Càdmo.

The perfect type is seen in Villegas:

Las cuèrdas mùdo aprìsa.

In songs the fourth syllable is also stressed. Sometimes the anapæst supplants the iambic, e.g., Villegas:

Sólo cànta mi lìra.

In older Spanish, the alexandrine often consisted of two seven-syllabled iambic verses or half-lines, separated by the cæsura. There might be one or two unaccented syllables after the stressed sixth, and the unaccented syllables did not coalesce with the second half-line, since hiatus, rather than synalœpha, prevailed in Old Spanish; e.g., Berceo:

En esta romería | habemos un buen prado.El fruto de los árbores | era dulze sabrìdo.

En esta romería | habemos un buen prado.

El fruto de los árbores | era dulze sabrìdo.

Some modern poets have imitated this alexandrine, avoiding the hiatus, however.

The five-syllabled (pentasyllabic) iambic verse has axxxvinecessary stress on the fourth syllable. In this line the iambics easily yield to dactyls; e.g., Moratín:

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