Key Concepts in Poetic Meter and Spanish Grammar
Understanding Poetic Versification
Versification: The rhythm typical of texts in verse is based on some overlapping elements throughout the poem: the extent of the lines, the distribution of accents, and rhyme.
Elements of Verse Rhythm
Line Extent
It is called the syllabic count (or versoal number) the number of syllables that form a verse. The syllabic repetition of a pattern creates a rhythmic impression.
Distribution of Accents
The phonetic accent often falls on syllables that occupy the same position in different verses. This reiteration of accents creates accentual lines that provide rhythm to the poem.
Rhyme
It consists of the repetition of sounds at the end of two or more verses. If that repetition affects all sounds – vowels and consonants – from the last stressed vowel of the verse, the rhyme is consonant. If it affects only the vowels and not the consonants, the rhyme is assonance.
Measuring Lines: Syllabic Count
The measure of a verse is given in principle by the number of syllables that this verse contains, but it is affected by two factors: the position of the accent in the last word of the verse and the presence of certain phenomena we call metric licenses.
The Final Stress
Stress placement in the last word of the verse affects the syllabic count this way: If the verse ends in a sharp (oxytone) word or syllable, one syllable is added. If the verse ends in an esdrújula (proparoxytone) word, one syllable is subtracted.
Metric Licenses
The syllabic count is affected by three phonetic phenomena that occur within the verse: synaloepha, dieresis, and syneresis.
Synaloepha Explained
Synaloepha consists of pronouncing the final syllable of a word and the initial syllable of the next word as a single syllable. This occurs when a word ends in a vowel and the following word begins with a vowel or ‘h’. For metric purposes, the two syllables behave as one.
Types of Verse by Measure
According to their extent, there are two kinds of verses:
Verses of Minor Art
They have 2 to 8 metric syllables.
Verses of Major Art
They have 9 or more metric syllables. Verses of twelve syllables or more are usually composed verses (verses consisting of two parts separated by a pause or caesura). Each part is called a hemistich; in syllabic computation, hemistiches are considered independent measures.
Specific Syllable Counts:
- 5 syllables: pentasyllables
- 7 syllables: heptasyllables
- 8 syllables: octosyllables
- 11 syllables: hendecasyllables
- 14 syllables: Alexandrian
The Indirect Object in Grammar
We call the indirect object (IO) the complement that indicates to whom or for whom the action, jointly expressed by the verb and direct object, is performed.
Verbs with Indirect Objects
The indirect object also accompanies some verbs, such as to please, to displease, to taste, to crave, etc., that do not take a direct object. In these cases, the indirect object is the one that receives the harm or benefit from the verbal action.
Forms of the Indirect Object
Noun phrases introduced by the preposition ‘a’ (to) and unstressed personal pronouns (me, te, le, nos, os, les, se) can perform the function of an indirect object.
Recognizing the Indirect Object
The indirect object can be identified thus:
- When it is a prepositional phrase, it may be replaced by an unstressed personal pronoun, which performs the same function.
- When the verb is replaced by the periphrasis ‘to be + past participle’ (passive voice), the indirect object’s role remains stable, while the direct object becomes the subject.