Understanding Romance in Spanish Literature: Definition and Characteristics

Romance in Spanish Literature

Romance: A romance is a series of indefinite assonant rhyming eight-syllable verses in pairs. The rhyme is the repetition of phonemes in the final verse from the last accented vowel. When all phonemes agree, it is a consonant rhyme, and when only the vowel sounds match, it is an assonant rhyme.

The Origin of Romance

Romance is an indefinite series of eight-syllable verses because they have no proper structure. They are an import of what were the "epics". These songs were oral poems, songs of people who were in town for minstrels. There comes a time when some parts of the most popular songs were made, then the people started again and learned, becoming a new poem. Thus, the romance was born. All parts did not remember were the same length, so romance is defined as a series of verses indefinitely. Also, to be the songs of all 16 syllables rhyming with each other, dividing this structure in half, running verses of 8 syllables, rhyme given only happens in a couple of verses. That's why romances are presented in verse with assonant rhyme in pairs.

Another Definition

There is another definition for romance that can be an epic-lyric composition intended for oral broadcasts through song. Its origins are popular and anonymous. They are epic, narrative, because they have stories, describing places, people, and narrating events. They are lyrical poems, written in verse, with rhyme, etc. Plus, they express subjective feelings. It is less about the characters but their feelings.

Characteristics of Romance

• Fragmentism: They are fragments of longer poems, and so many times there is a rough start (no introduction of people, place, etc.), and the end is truncated. Furthermore, as a result of fragmentism, the romance is usually little descriptive, synthetic, and often missing information. We do not know the history of the characters, and the end is usually open.
• Repetitions: It is common to repeat words several times. For example, "Dream sounded... Sonite of my soul." The word "sleep" appears in different ways as a verb, noun, etc.
• Use of Dialogue: Romance often involves discussions.
• Chronological Order: The facts are ordered chronologically.
• Use of Diminutives: For example, "Sonite", "little bird", etc.
• Use of Conjugated Verbs: It gives it an epic feel and helps tell the facts.
• Sumptuary Taste: A taste for luxury and thin items. The reason for this is that as the romances of origin are popular in the stories of the people, the items listed are those that people long for and desire.
• Supernatural Elements: People want a different literature from the common, which involves supernatural events.
• Dynamic: The romance gives few descriptions to be agile.