Chapter 4

Chapter 43,930 wordsPublic domain

This is largely a harking back to primitive conditions, for in the oldest Castilian narrative verse the rule of "counted syllables" apparently did not prevail. Cf. the _Cantar de mío Cid_, where there is great irregularity in the number of syllables. And, although in the page xlvii old _romances_ the half-lines of eight syllables largely predominate, many are found with seven or nine syllables, and some with even fewer or more. The adoption of the rule of "counted syllables" in Spanish may have been due to one or more of several causes: to the influence of medieval Latin rhythmic songs;[10] to French influence; or merely to the development in the Spanish people of a feeling for artistic symmetry.

[Footnote 10: Such as:

Stabat Mater dolorosa Juxta crucem lachrymosa Dum pendebat filius.]

Other poets of to-day write verses in which the line contains a fixed number of syllables or any multiple of that number. Thus, Julio Sesto (_Blanco y Negro_, Nov. 5, 1911):

¡Cómo desembarcan..., cómo desembarcan esas pobres gentes...! Desde la escalera de la nave todo Nueva York abarcan de un vistazo: muelles, río, casas, puentes... Y después que todos sus cinco sentidos ponen asombrados en ver la ciudad, como agradecidos, miran á la estatua de la Libertad. ¡Ella es la Madona, ella es la Madona, que de la Siberia saca á los esclavos, que á los regicidas la vida perdona, y que salva á muchos de contribuyentes, pobres, perseguidos, subditos y esclavos!...

(_La tierra prometida_)

Spanish poets have often tried to write verses in classical meters with the substitution of stress for quantity. Thus, Villegas in the following hexameters:

Seis veces el verde soto coronó su cabeza de nardo, de amarillo trebol, de morada viöla, en tanto que el pecho frío de mi casta Licoris al rayo del ruëgo mío deshizo su hielo.[11]

[Footnote 11: Apparently _trebol_ instead of _trébol_. These lines are quoted by Eugenio Mele, in _La poesia barbara in Ispagna_, Bari, 1910.] page xlviii José Eusebio Caro wrote similar hexameters, and, strange to say, made alternate lines assonate:

¡Céfiro rápido lánzate! ¡rápido empújame y vivo! ¡Más redondas mis velas pon: del proscrito á los lados, haz que tus silbos susurren dulces y dulces suspiren! ¡Haz que pronto del patrio suelo se aleje mi barco! (_En alta mar_)

The number of these direct imitations is large; but few succeeded. They are, at best, foreign to the spirit of Castilian poetry.

In singing Spanish verses two facts are of especial interest: that, where the rules of prosody require synalepha, hiatus sometimes occurs (especially in opera), thus:

Recógete--ese pañuelo. (Olmedo, _Folk-lore de Castilla_, p. 133)

Y el pájaro--era verde. (Ledesma, _Cancionero salmantino_, p. 53)

And that musical accents do not necessarily coincide with syllabic stresses, even at the end of a phrase. Thus,

¡Cuántas vèces, vida mìa, Te asomàrás al balcòn![12]

¡Cuerpo buèno, alma divìna, Qué de fàtigas me cuèstas!

¡Bendiga Dios ese cuerpò, Tan llenísimo de gracià! (Hernández, _Flores de España_)

[Footnote 12: The grave accent mark (`) indicates a strong musical accent.] page xlix

SYLLABICATION

In most modern Spanish verse there is a fixed number of syllables in a line up to and including the last stressed syllable.[13] In counting these syllables consideration must be given to the following facts:

[Footnote 13: The number of unstressed syllables at the end of a line is not fixed. See p. lvi.

In order to have the correct number of syllables, poets sometimes (1) shorten a word or (2) shift the accent:

(1) ¿Ya qué mi puro _espirtu_ sucias carnes... (Cabanyes, _Á Cintio_)

(2) Puede querer...? _Abralé_... (Zorrilla, _Don Juan Tenorio_, primeraa parte, III, 6) Deben de ser _angeles_. (Lope de Vega, _El mejor alcalde el rey_, II)

Note the artificial separation of lines in some dramatic _romance_-verse:

... Soy un cate- Cúmeno muy diligente. (Calderón, _El José de las mujeres_, II)

De una vil hermana, de un Falso amigo, de un infame Criado...

(Calderón, _No hay burlas con el amor_, III)]

(1) SYNERESIS

(_a_) A stressed "weak" vowel (_i, u_) may not combine with a "strong" vowel (_a, e, o_) to form a diphthong: _dí|a_,_rí|e, frí|o, ra|íz, le|í|do, o|í|do, page l con|ti|nú|a, con|ti|nú|e, con|ti|nú|o, ba|úl, sa|bí|a, sa|brí|ais, ca|í|ais,_ etc.[14]

[Footnote 14: Note that in these combinations the weak vowel receives the accent mark. Some Spanish-American poets have sinned grievously, by reason of their local pronunciation, in diphthongizing a strong vowel with a following stressed weak vowel, as _maiz, a|taud, oi|do_, for _ma|íz, a|ta|úd, o|í|do_, respectively, etc.]

Exceptions are rare:

Su|pe | que | se|ría | di|cho|so | (Calderón, _No hay burlas con el amor_, III)

Cf. also _rendíos_, etc., where the _o_ of _os_ combines with the _í_ by synalepha.

(_b_) _uá, uó_, are usually disyllabic, except after _c, g_, and _j: a|dü|a|na, sü|a|ve;_ but _cua|tro, san|ti|guó, Juan_, etc. Syneresis may occur: _sua|ve_.

(_c_) _úi_ is usually disyllabic, except in _muy: flú|i|do_.

(_d_) Two unstressed strong vowels, if they follow the stress, regularly form a diphthong; but if they precede they may form a diphthong or they may be dissyllabic, usually at the option of the poet.

Que | del | em|pí|r=eo e=n | el | ce|nit | fi|na|ba.[15] (p. 180, l. 11) Las | mar|mó|r=ea=s|, y aus|te|ras | es|cul|tu|ras. (p. 138, l. 22) La | ne|gra ad|ver|si|dad|, con | fé|rr=ea= | ma|no. (p. 144, l. 20) El | tiem|po en|tre | sus | plie|gues | r=o|e=|do|res. (p. 85, l. 24) page li Te | van | á ar|mar | do | c=a|e=|rás | in|cau|ta. (p. 40, l. 24) La | f=e|a=l|dad | del vi|cio|; pe|ro hu|yó|se...[16] (p. 39, l. 14) En | tan | frá|gil | r=ea=|li|dad. (p. 97, l. 18) La | sub|li|me | p=oe=|sí|a | re|ver|be|ra. (p. 149,1. 19)

[Footnote 15: Note that here poetic usage differs from the rules for syllabication that obtain in prose. Thus, in _empíreo_ the _í_ receives the accent mark, since it is held to be in the antepenultimate syllable, but in verse _empíreo_ is regularly trisyllabic.]

[Footnote 16: The _ea_ of _fealdad_ is normally disyllabic by analogy with _feo_. Cf. (_f_) below.]

(_e_) Two strong vowels, if one is stressed, are usually disyllabic:

_pa|se|a, re|cre|o, ca|no|a,_ etc.

A|rran|ca a|rran|ca|, Dios | mí|o, De | la | men|te | del | p=o|e=|ta Es|te | pen|sa|mien|to im|pí|o Que en | un | de|li|rio | cr=e|ó=. (p. 83, ll. 7-10) ¿Qué | se hi|cie|ron | tus | mu|ros | to|rr=e|a=|dos, Oh | mi | pa|tria | que|ri|da? ¿Dón|de | fue|ron | tus | hé|roes | es|for|za|dos, Tu es|pa|da | no | ven|ci|da? (p. 78, ll. 1-4) A|na|cr=e|o=n|te, el | vi|no y | la a|le|grí|a. (p. 150, l. 4) S=a|e=|ta | que | vo|la|do|ra... (p. 121, l. 15) De o|ro | la | n=a|o= | ga|di|ta|na a|por|ta. (p. 39, l. 24) Y | no | se es|me|re en | l=o|a=r|la. (p. 43, l. 18) Don|de á | c=a|e=r | vol|ve|rá. (p. 121, l. 22) page lii Syneresis is rare, but may occur,--except in _éa_, _éo_ and _óa_,--provided the second vowel does not receive a rhythmic accent:

Es|cri|ba|no al | c=ae=r | el | sol. (p. 109, l. 3) C=ae=n | es|ta|llan|do | de | los | fuer|tes | gon|ces. (p. 57, l. 19) Cual | na|ve | r=ea=l | en | triun|fo em|pa|ve|sa|da. (p. 40, l. 15)

(_f_) In some words vowels that would normally form a diphthong are usually disyllabic by analogy with other forms derived from the same stem: _fi|é_, _fi|ó_ (cf. _fí|o_), _ri|ó_, _ri|e|ron_ (cf. _rí|o_), _con|ti|nu|é_ (cf. _con|ti|nú|o_), _di|a|rio_ (cf. _dí|a_), _bri|o|so_ (cf. _brí|o_), _hu|í_, _hu|i|mos_ (cf. _hu|yo_), etc.

Syneresis is rare, but possible, as in _brio|so_ for _bri|o|so_.

(_g_) Prefixes, except _a_-, usually form separate syllables: _pre|in|ser|to_, _re|im|pri|mir_, _re|hu|sar_; but _aho|gar_. If the syllable after _a_-is stressed, dieresis usually occurs:

Á | los | que a|ho|ra a|cla|ma. (p. 220, l. 3) En | la | sub|li|me | so|le|dad | a|ho|ra... (p. 188, l. 3)

(2) DIERESIS

By poetic license vowels that normally form one syllable may often be dissolved into separate syllables (this is called "dieresis") at the will of the poet: _glo|rio|so_ or _glo|rï|o|so_, _rui|do_ or _rü|i|do_, etc.[17] See also (1), _d_, above.

[Footnote 17: Note that the dieresis mark is generally used in dieresis of two weak vowels, or of strong and weak vowels where the strong vowel is stressed.] page liii But dieresis is impossible if the diphthong is _ie_ or _ue_ from Latin _[e]_ and _[o]_ respectively, as in _bien_, _siente_, _huevo_, _puedo_.

(3) SYNALEPHA

The final vowel or diphthong of one word and the initial vowel or diphthong of an immediately following word in the same line usually combine to form one syllable (this is called "synalepha")[18] as in:

Cuan|do | re|cuer|do | la | pie|dad | sin|ce|ra Con | qu=e e=n | m=i e=|dad | pri|me|ra En|tra|b=a e=n | nues|tras | vie|jas | ca|te|dra|les. (p. 137, ll. 19-21) La | cien|c=ia au=|daz|, cuan|do | de | ti | s=e a=|le|ja. (p. 143, l. 16) ¡És|t=a e=s | Es|pa|ñ=a! A=|tó|ni|t=a y= | mal|tre|cha... (p. 147, l. 3) Que | mi | can|tar | so|no|ro A|com|pa|ñ=ó ha=s|t=a a=|quí|; n=o a=|pri|sio|na|do... (p. 49, ll. 6-7)

[Footnote 18: Note that the union of vowels in separate words is called synalepha, while the union of vowels within a word is called syneresis. But synalepha may occur in combinations of vowels in which syneresis would be impossible. Compare _te|ní|a_ and _ca|no|a_ with:

A|sí al | man|ce|bo in|te|rrum|pe (p. 94, l. 13). Ni | la | mi|ra|da | que | lan|zó al | sos|la|yo (p. 219, l. 8).]

The vowels of three words may thus combine if the middle word is _a_ (or _ha_) (see also (4), _a_):

Le | di|j=o é=s|t=e á u=|na | mu|jer. (p. 79, l. 15) Sal|v=a á e=s|ta | so|cie|dad | des|ven|tu|ra|da. (p. 143, l. 12) page liv (4) HIATUS

(_a_) Hiatus (i.e. the final vowel of one word and the initial vowel of the immediately following word form separate syllables)[19] is caused by the interposition of a weak unstressed vowel, as in:

En | sus | re|cuer|dos | de | hiel. (p. 84, l. 3) De | sus | á|la|mos | y | huer|tos. (p. 91, l. 8) Y hoy | en | sus | can|ta|res | llo|ra. (p. 84, l. 18)

[Footnote 19: Note that hiatus between words is equivalent to dieresis within a word.]

Note that, similarly, the vowels of three words may not combine, if the middle word is _y, é_ (or _he_), _ó_ (or _oh_), _ú_:

O|las| de | pla|ta y | a|zul. (p. 73, l. 12) Que | la al|ma | no|che | ó el | bri|llan|te | di|a. (p. 180, l. 20) ¿Quién | cal|ma|rá, | ¡Oh Es|pa|ña! | tus | pe|sa|res? (p. 79, l. 7)

And in all such expressions as: _o|cio|so é | i|rri|ta|do_, _Se|vi|lla | ú O|vie|do_, etc.

Except when a vowel is repeated:

Si he es|cu|cha|do | cuan|do ha|bla|bas. (Calderón, _No hay burlas con el amor_, III)

In modern Spanish, _h_, being silent, has no effect, but in older Spanish, _h_ for Latin _f_, being then pronounced, prevented synalepha, as in:

Por | el | mes | e|ra | de | ma|yo cuan|do | ha|ce | la | ca|lor. (p. 7, l. 1-2) page lv Hiatus was common in Old Spanish, except when the first of two words was the definite article, a personal pronoun-object or the preposition _de_; or when the vowels were the same.

(_b_) Hiatus is usual when the initial vowel of the second word has a strong accent (usually the rhythmic accent at the end of a line or phrase):

Pues | en | fin | me | de|jó | una (Calderón). Ta|les | fue|ron | ya | és|tos | cual | her|mo|so (Herrera). Tal | de | lo | al|to | tem|pes|tad | des|he|cha (Maury). No hay | pla|ce|res | en | su | al | ma. (p. 85, l. 4) Cuan|do | po|bre | de | a|ños | y | pe|sa|res (p. 221, l. 9) Con|ti|go | se | fué | mi | hon|ra. (p. 103, l. 19) De | gra|na|das | es|pi|gas|; tú | la | u|va... (p. 215, l. 5) Por|que es | pa|ra el | ser | que | a|ma. (p. 84, l. 9) Muy | más | her|mo|sa | la | ha|llan (p. 44, l. 5) El | ne|va|do | cue|llo | al|za (p. 43, l. 4) Por|que | tam|bién | e|ra| u|so. (p. 115, l. 9) Que en | la | bo|ca, y | só|lo | u|no. (p. 52, l. 26) Gen|te en | es|te | mon|te | an|da... Ya | que | de | tu | vis|ta | hu|ye. (Calderón) Gi|gan|te | o|la | que el | vien|to...[20] (p. 121, l. 23)

[Footnote 20: Synalepha is usually to be avoided when it would bring together two stressed syllables as in _gigante ola, querido hijo_, etc.] page lvi But synalepha is possible (especially of _de o-_):

To|do e|le|va|ba | mi á|ni|mo in|tran|qui|lo. (p. 139, l. 22) Yo | le | da|ré|; mas | no en | el | ar|pa | de o|ro... (p. 49, l. 5)

And synalepha is the rule, if stress on the initial syllable is weak:

Á o|tra per|so|na en | Ma|drid. (p. 36, l. 19) To|da, to|da e|res | per|fec|ta. (p. 44, l. 22)

If the vowels are the same, they usually combine into one:

Del | sol | en | la al|ta | cum|bre (p. 49, l. 13) Tem|blar | en | tor|no | de él|: un | ar|co in|men|so... (p. 180, l. 10)

(5) FINAL SYLLABLES

In estimating the number of syllables in a Spanish verse-line one final unstressed syllable after the last stressed syllable is counted whether it be present or not; or, if there be two unstressed syllables at the end of the line, only one is counted.[21] Thus the following are considered 8-syllable lines although, in fact, one line has nine syllables and another has only seven:

La | sal|pi|ca | con | es|com|bros De | cas|ti|llos | y | de al|cá|za|res... Pa|ra | vol|ver | á | bro|tar...

[Footnote 21: In Spanish, a word stressed on the final syllable is called _agudo_; a word with one syllable after the stress is called _grave_ or _llano_; one with two syllables after the stress, _esdrújulo: farol, pluma, pájaro_.] page lvii This system of counting syllables obtains in Spanish because there is one and only one unstressed syllable at the end of most verse-lines. It would, perhaps, be more logical to stop the count with the last stressed syllable, as the French do. For instance, a Spanish 11-syllable line would be called a "feminine" 10-syllable line by the French; but the French language has only one vowel (_e_) that may occur in a final unstressed syllable, while in Spanish there are several (_a, e, o,_ rarely _i, u_).

RIME

Spanish poetry may be in rimed verse or in blank verse. (1) Rimed verse may have "consonance," in which there is rime of the last stressed vowel and of any consonants and vowels that may follow in the line, as in:

En las presas Yo divido Lo cogido Por igual: Sólo quiero Por riqueza La belleza Sin rival. (p. 75, ll. 5-12)

Madre mía, yo soy niña; No se enfade, no me riña, Si fiada en su prudencia Desahogo mi conciencia, (p. 51, ll. 10-13)

¡Cuán solitaria la nación que un día Poblara inmensa gente! ¡La nación cuyo imperio se extendía Del ocaso al oriente! (p. 76, ll. 19-22) page lviii ¡Oh tú, que duermes en casto l=echo=, De sinsabores ajeno el p=echo=, Y á los encantos de la hermos=ura= Unes las gracias del coraz=ón=, Deja el descanso, doncella p=ura=, Y oye los ecos de mi canc=ión=! (p. 199, ll. 1-6)

In a diphthong consisting of a strong and a weak vowel the weak vowel may be disregarded in rime. Cf. above: _prudencia, conciencia; corazón, canción; igual, rival_.

(2) Or rimed verse may have "assonance," in which there is rime of the last accented vowel and of any final vowel that may follow in the line, but not of consonants.[22]

[Footnote 22: Assonance is rare in popular English verse, but it occurs in some household rimes; e. g.:

Little Tommy Tucker, He cried for his supper. What shall little Tommy Tucker have for his supper? Black-eyed beans and bread and butter.

Here the assonance is _ú-er_ (final unstressed _-er_ in standard present-day English represents vocalic _r_).]

Assonance of alternate lines is the usual rime of the _romances_, as in:

Cabellos de mi cabeza lléganme al corvej=ó=n; los cabellos de mi barba por manteles tengo y=o=: las uñas de las mis manos por cuchillo tajad=o=r. (P. 7, ll. 15-20)

Here the assonance is _o_. page lix ¡Abenámar, Abenámar, moro de la morer=ía=, el día que tú naciste grandes señales hab=ía=! Estaba la mar en calma, la luna estaba crec=i=d=a=: moro que en tal signo nace, no debe decir ment=i=r=a=. (P. 1, 11. 1-8)

Here the assonance is _í-a_.[23]

[Footnote 23: The _romances viejos_ were originally in lines of approximately sixteen syllables, and every line then had assonance.]

Del salón en el ángulo obscuro, De su dueño tal vez olvid=a=d=a=, Silenciosa y cubierta de polvo Veíase el =a=rp=a=. ¡Cuánta nota dormía en sus cuerdas, Como el pájaro duerme en las r=a=m=a=s, Esperando la mano de nieve Qué sabe arranc=a=rl=a=s! (P. 122, ll. 12-19)

Here the assonance is _á-a_.

The following rules for assonance should be noted:

_(a)_ In modern Spanish a word stressed on the final syllable may not assonate with one stressed on a syllable preceding the final.[24]

[Footnote 24: In the old _romances_ and in the medieval epic, _á_ could assonate with _á-a._ In singing these old verses every line was probably made to end in an unstressed vowel by adding paragogic _e_ to a final stressed syllable. Thus, _son_ was sung as _sone, dar_ as _dare, temí_ as _temíe_, etc. Cf. Men. Pel., _Ant._ V, 65; XI, 86, 92; and Men. Pid., _Cantar de mío Cid_, I, 65 f.]

_(b)_ A word stressed on the penult may assonate with one page lx stressed on the antepenult. Vowels between the stressed syllable and the final syllable are disregarded, as in _cruza, cúpula (ú-a), bañe, márgenes, árabes (á-e)._

_(c)_ In stressed diphthongs and triphthongs only the vowels receiving the stress assonate, as in _vale, aire (á-e), cabellos, suelo (é-o), envolviendo, aposento (é-o), guardias, alta (á-a), pleito, siento (é-o), mucho, triunfo (ú-o)._

_(d)_ In unstressed diphthongs and triphthongs only the strong vowels assonate, as in _turba, lluvia (ú-a), licencia, quisierais (é-a), pido, continuo (í-o)_. Similarly, _e_ or _o_, before another strong vowel, is disregarded in an unstressed diphthong, as in _modo, erróneo (ó-o), crece, héroe (é-e)_.

_(e)_ In final unstressed syllables, _i_ and _u_ (not in diphthongs) assonate with _e_ and _o_, respectively, as in _verde, débil (é-e), amante, fácil (á-e), líquido, espíritu (í-o)_.

(3) In Spanish blank verse (_versos sueltos, libres, blancos_) there is usually no rime; or if there be rime it is merely incidental. Blank verse usually consists of 11-syllable lines.

¡Oh! ¡cuánto rostro veo, á mi censura, De palidez y de rubor cubierto! Ánimo, amigos, nadie tema, nadie, Su punzante aguijón; que yo persigo En mi sátira el vicio, no al vicioso. (P. 39, ll. 3-7)

Blank verse is little used in Spanish. It occurs chiefly in serious satirical or philosophical poems. But separate _versos sueltos_ are introduced into some varieties of compositions, such as the _romance, seguidilla, silva_, etc.[25]

[Footnote 25: The _versos sueltos_ are, with regard to the absence of rime, in imitation of classic Greek and Latin verse. They came into Spain by way of Italy during the Renaissance movement. Abjured by the romanticists, they were restored to favor by Núñez de Arce.]

page lxi VERSE-MEASURES

A. VERSE WITH BINARY MOVEMENT[26]

[Footnote 26: The term "binary" is used here to distinguish ordinary Spanish verse from that with regular ternary movement. Cf. p. lxx.]

In modern Spanish this verse is commonly found in lines of seven, eight or eleven syllables. It may occur in lines of any length; but in lines of five or six syllables the binary and ternary movements are generally mingled. In Old Spanish binary lines of approximately 8+8 and 7+7 syllables were common, and lines of 6+6, or of nine, syllables were then, as now, also occasionally used.[27]

[Footnote 27: Verses of three or four syllables are best treated as half-lines, with inner rime (_versos leonínos_).]

The most popular measure, and the one of most importance in the history of Spanish verse, is the 8+8-syllable line of the old _romances_, which was later divided into two 8-syllable lines, and became the most common measure in the drama and in popular songs. This line usually has only one rhythmic accent, which falls on the seventh syllable.[28]

[Footnote 28: By "rhythmic accent" is meant the musical accent on the last stressed syllable of a phrase and not syllabic stresses that may occur within a phrase.]

Mis arreos son las armas, mi descanso el pelear, mi cama las duras peñas, mi dormir siempre velar (p. 5, ll. 1-4) page lxii Rarely 8-syllable lines are written with a fixed accent on the third syllable (cf. p. 51, l. 10 f.).[29] There is then sometimes _pie quebrado_ in alternate lines, as in:

Hijo mío mucho amado, Para mientes; No contrastes á las gentes Mal su grado. Ama: é serás amado; Y podrás Hazer lo que no harás Desamado.[30]

[Footnote 29: They are less common in Spanish than in Italian:

Sai tu dirme, o fanciullino, In qual pasco gita sia La vezzosa Egeria mia Ch'io pur cerco dal mattino? (Paolo A. Rolli)]

[Footnote 30: Note the example of hiatus in this older Spanish.]

Next to the popular 8-syllable line the most important measure in modern Spanish verse is that of eleven syllables, with binary movement, which came to Spain from Italy in the fifteenth century, and was generally accepted by the writers of the Siglo de Oro. This 11-syllable line, though of foreign origin, has held the boards as the chief erudite measure in Spanish verse for four centuries, and taken all in all it is the noblest metrical form for serious poems in modern Spanish. A striking peculiarity of the line is its flexibility. It is not divided into hemistichs as were its predecessors, the 14-syllable Alexandrine and the 12-syllable _arte mayor_ verse; but it consists of two phrases and the position of the inner rhythmic accent is usually variable. page lxiii A well constructed line of this type has a rhythmic accent on the sixth syllable, or a rhythmic accent on the fourth syllable (usually with syllabic stress on the eighth), beside the necessary accent in the tenth position. Generally the inner accent falls on the sixth syllable approximately twice as often as on the fourth.