Types of verses according to their syllables

In Spanish, lyrical compositions or poems are divided into verses, which are sets of words or sentences subject to a certain metric measure, which is established by the rhyme of the poem. Thus, depending on the rhythm of the poetic text, we can establish a classification of the types of verses according to their syllables. In this lesson from a TEACHER we will see what these are types of verses according to their syllables that are used in poetry in Spanish. Keep reading!

One of the most important classifications according to which we can distinguish the different types of verses is the one based on in the number of syllables from each of them. In this way, we differentiate two types of verses:

The verses of minor art

They are that contain eight syllables or less than eight. Thus, minor art verses are those formed by two syllables (bisyllables), three syllables (trisyllables), four syllables (tetrasyllables), five syllables (pentasyllables), six syllables (hexasyllables), seven syllables (heptasyllables) and, finally, eight syllables (eight syllables).

When performing the metric analysis of a poem of minor art verses we must use letters lowercase to represent them, for example: abba cddc would be a metric structure in art verses less.

The verses of major art

Are all those verses that have nine syllables or more, such as those with ten syllables (decasílabo), eleven syllables (hendecasílabo), twelve syllables (dodecasílabo), thirteen syllables (tridecasílabo), fourteen syllables (alejandrino) or fifteen syllables (pentadecasílabo) are some examples. To differentiate them from the verses of minor art, in the metric analysis of the poems of major art verses, use uppercase letters, instead of lowercase, reserved for minor art verses, as we have seen before.

The verses of major art, being longer than those of minor art, they have a pause in the middle of the verse, which receives the name of caesura, and this divides the verse into two parts or hemistichs.

Within Spanish poetry, the most used verses, and therefore, the most important and representative of our lyric, they are the octosyllable as for those of minor art and the hendecasyllable among those of art higher.

In addition to the previous classification, which starts from the number of syllables of each of the verses of a poem, we can also divide them according to the presence or absence of rhyme. In this way, we can distinguish the following types:

• The rhymed verse it is the most generic, the one whose last word rhymes with the final word of one or more of the other verses.
• Free verse (also called loose verse or blank verse) is one that is not subject to any particular rhyme.

In this other lesson from a TEACHER we will discover the rhyme lessons from a poem.

Another classification that can also be performed is distinguish the verses according to the position of the accent. The prosodic accent refers to the enhancement in the pronunciation of the stressed syllable. The accent is a linguistic and stylistic element that is related to the rhythm of the poem, modifying the sound of it to beautify the expression or reading of it.

Thus, we have:

• The oxytone verse It is the one that bears the prosodic accent on the last syllable; that is, it is an acute verse.
• The paroxitone verse is the plain verse; that is to say, the one in which the blow of the voice falls on the penultimate syllable.
• The proparoxytone verse it is the verse with the prosodic accent on the penultimate syllable; the verse esdrújulo.

Spanish is a language in which the flat accentuation of words predominates. For this reason, in Spanish literature, the verse that is most used is the plain or paroxitone verse.

In this other lesson you will learn the structure of a poem.