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VERSIFICACIÓN ESPAÑOLA

1. División silábica:
1. A single consonant forms a syllable with the following vowel: ca-sa
2. Syllables are divided between two consonants: gen-te.
2.1 Consonants followed by r or l form a consonant group that can’t be divided: a-bril
2.2 Groups of two or more consonants are divided so that the final consonant goes with the following
vowel: ins-tan-te (except r or l : sor-pren-der)
3. Combinations of strong vowels (a,e,o) are divided to form separate syllables: pa-se-o (hiatus)
3.1 A weak vowel (i,u) combines with a strong vowel or with another weak vowel to form a
diphthong, which functions with a consonant or consonants as a single syllable if unaccented: ciu-
dad (triphthong: weak/strong/weak forms a single syllable; miau)
3.2 In combinations of a weak and strong vowel where the weak vowel is accented, the two vowels
are divided into separate syllables: mí-o

2. Licencias poéticas
1. Sinalefa: the final vowel of one word within a line normally combines with the initial vowel
of the following word to form a single syllable, punctuation is irrelevant

le echa fuera — lee-cha-fue-ra

se allana el país — sea-lla-nael-pa-ís
su mutuo amor — su-mu-tuoa-mor
no hay nada — nohay-na-da

2. Sinéresis: 2 strong vowels may be combined into a single syllable, especially if it is the same
vowel repeated (neer-lan-dés, al-cohol, teo-rí-a)

3. Diéresis involves separating two vowels that would normally form a diphthong, which may be
indicated by the diacritical mark also known as diéresis (diaeresis in English): ruido has two
syllables, rüido counts as three (ru-i-do).

3. Cómputo silábico (sílabas fonológicas y sílabas métricas):

(a) If the last word in the line is stressed on the second-to-last syllable (terminación grave/llana), the
actual number of syllables counts:

‘sobre los campos desnudos’

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

so bre los cam pos des nu dos

This is an octosyllable (8-syllable line).

(b) If it is stressed on the last syllable (terminación aguda), you add one to the syllable count:

‘la muerte en mi casa entró’

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

la muer teen mi ca saen tró

This is also an octosyllable.

(c) If it is stressed on the third-to-last syllable (terminación esdrújula), you subtract one from the
syllable count:

‘la estrella es una lágrima’

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

laes tre llae su na lá gri ma

This is a heptasyllable (7-syllable line).

(d) In other words, all lines are treated as if they had a grave ending with a stress on the second-
to-last syllable.

The following line is one of a series of regular heptasyllables:

‘con sed insacïable’

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

con se din sa cï a ble

4. Rima

(a) Full rhyme (rima consonante/total).

Matching of vowels and consonants from the last stressed vowel onwards (if the endings are
agudas, the final syllable is blank):

ges-to frí-o a-mor

ho-nes-to som-brí-o ho-nor
pres-to gen-tí-o se-ñor
e-nhies-to rí-o ma-yor

Full rhyme can be used in various sequences:

Rhyming couplets (pareados) — AA BB CC.

Groups of four lines — ABBA (rima abrazada), ABAB (rima encadenada).
Longer stanzas (estrofas) with a regular pattern, e.g. octavas reales — ABABABCC.

(b) Assonance (rima asonante/vocálica).

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Matching of vowels from the last stressed vowel onwards (in a diphthong, only the
‘strong’ vowel matters):

hacienda opulencia doncella conocerla aldea

Assonantal rhyme usually applies to alternate lines (with no rhyme on the other lines).
If the endings of the rhyming lines are agudas, the last vowel matches and the last countable
syllable is blank:

crin varonil Guadalquivir en mí

A line with an esdrújula ending can rhyme assonantally with a grave word (disregarding the
second-to-last vowel of the esdrújula):

ondulados sonámbulos caballo

5. Tipos de verso

(a) A line of verse is referred to in Spanish as un verso. Lines may be of any length, but the most
commonly used forms have 6, 7, 8, 11 or 14 syllables.
Lines of up to 8 syllables are known as versos de arte menor; those of 9, 10 or 11 syllables are
known as versos de arte mayor. Lines of more than 11 syllables are versos compuestos, consisting
of two hemistiquios (hemistichs) divided by a real or notional pause known as a cesura (caesura).

(b) Heptasílabos (7-syllable lines) are often used in combination with 11-syllable ones. Silva is a
metre consisting of 7- and 11-syllable lines in any sequence with full rhyme; lira combines 7s and
11s in stanzas of 5 lines: 7A 11B 7A 7B 11B.

(c) Octosílabos (8-syllable lines) are used in various types of full-rhyme stanza and in the
traditional ballad form (romance), which has assonance on every second line.

(d) Endecasílabos (11-syllable lines) are the most common type of verso de arte mayor. The main
stresses in a hendecasyllable should conform to one of four patterns:

enfático 1 – 6 – 10
heroico 2 – 6 – 10
melódico 3 – 6 – 10
sáfico 4 – 6 – 10 or 4 – 8 – 10

(e) Alejandrinos (Alexandrines) are the most common type of verso compuesto, consisting of 14
syllables in two 7-syllable hemistichs. The syllable count — including the rules for aguda and
esdrújula endings — applies separately to each hemistich, and sinalefa is not applied across the
caesura: ‘soy clásico o romántico/ no sé, dejar quisiera’

1 2 3 4 5 6 . 7 // 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
soy clá si coo ro mán ti co // no sé de jar qui sie ra

‘hacia el camino blanco/ está el mesón abierto’

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 // 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
ha ciael ca mi no blan co // es táel me só na bier to

(f) An estribillo is a repeated refrain of up to four lines, often rhyming with the last line of each
stanza. A verso de pie quebrado* is a short line included in a sequence of longer lines, either
randomly or according to a regular pattern.

*’¿Qué tienes tú, negra encina/ campesina/ con tus ramas sin color’

(g) Enjambement (or enjambed line)* occurs when a clause, phrase or sentence runs on from one
line to the next. When the conclusion of a clause, phrase, or sentence coincides with the line break
the line is called end-stopped.

*‘¡El olmo centenario de la colina/ que lame el Duero! Un musgo amarillento’

‘Todo pasa y todo queda,/ pero lo nuestro es pasar.’

6. Formas poéticas

(a) A sonnet (soneto) is a poem consisting of 14 lines of the same length, usually
hendecasyllables. Traditionally, the structure is defined as two cuartetos + 2 tercetos:

ABBA ABBA CDC DCD

(b) While the 4+4+3+3 structure is usually respected, variations on the rhyme pattern are
common (especially in the tercets). Alexandrines or other metres are sometimes used in
sonnets.

For a glossary of terms for the analysis of poems, see:

Also: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms, ed. Chris Baldick (Oxford, 1990); The Penguin
Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory, 4th edition, ed. J.A. Cuddon, revised C. E.
Preston (Harmondsworth, 1998). John Lennard, The Poetry Handbook (Oxford, 1996)

On Spanish versification, the following texts are helpful:

D.C. Clarke, A Chronological Sketch of Castilian Versification (University of California, 1952).
Tomás Navarro Tomás, Métrica española (many editions).
Tomás Navarro Tomás, Arte del verso (many editions).
Tomás Navarro Tomás, Repertorio de estrofas españolas (Las Américas, 1968).
Janet H. Perry, introduction to Harrap Anthology of Spanish Poetry (Harrap, 1953).

XR 2015