Spanish Poetic Metrics and Narrative Forms

Spanish Poetic Metrics and Verse Structure

Metric: The metric is concerned with the extent or structure of the verses. Kinds of verse: The verse is a word or set of words subject to a rhythmic scheme. Verses are classified according to their number of syllables:

• Simple verses of minor art: Disyllabic, trisyllabic, tetrasyllabic, pentasyllabic, hexasyllabic, heptasyllabic, and octosyllabic.
• Simple verses of major art: Decasyllabic and hendecasyllabic.
• Composed verses of high art: Dodecasyllabic and Alexandrines.

Stanza and Poem: The lines can be grouped into a larger unit called a stanza. The maximum metric unit is the poem; this can be strophic, if formed by stanzas, or non-strophic verses.

Rhyme: Rhyme is the sound similarity, in whole or partially, located between the phonemes from the last accented vowel of two or more verses. If both vowels and consonants coincide, it is a consonant rhyme; if only the vowels coincide, it is an assonance rhyme.

Narrative Characteristics and Discourse

Narrative: The narrative includes texts that feature a story told through a narrator. Characteristics: They develop a story where the referential function dominates alongside the poetic function. The story is told by a narrator. The predominant mode of discourse is prose, although verse has also been used to narrate.

Key Narrative Subgenres

• Epic Poem: Lengthy narratives in verse that cover the story of a hero bound to the fate of their people. They are characterized by the employment of high art verse and phrases meant to describe characters. Example: Cantar de Mio Cid.
• Romance: Short stories in verse with assonance rhyme in even lines, while odd lines remain loose. Example: Romances del Cid.
• Fable: Short stories in prose or verse with a moral or ideological purpose. They offer a conflict between two personas that emphasizes the existence of capital vices. Example: The Book of Good Love.
• Tale: Short stories in prose that present a conflict whose end may be open or closed. They usually develop in a unique time and space and include dialogue of short duration. Example: The Count Lucanor.
• Novel: Extended narrative in prose that displays a problematic world and diverse history, which can vary in space and time. Example: Lazarillo de Tormes.