Literary Analysis: Metrics, Grammar, and Narrative Theory
Lyrical Poetry and Metric Analysis
When analyzing a poem, the following elements must be identified:
- Verse Type
- Stanza Form
- Rhyme Scheme
- Metric Scheme
Stanza Forms (Types of Stanzas)
- Couplet (Paired): 2 verses.
- Tercet: 3 verses.
- Tercet Chained: 3 decasyllabic verses linked by rhyme.
- Quatrain (Major Art): 4 verses of 9 or more syllables.
- Quatrain (Minor Art): 4 verses of 8 or fewer syllables.
- Quintet: 5 verses.
- Sextet: 6 verses.
- Octave: 8 lines, typically of Major Art.
- Sonnet: 14 verses.
Verse Classification
- Blank Verse (Whites): Poems that rhyme but do not have the same length.
- Free Verse: Verses that have neither rhyme nor the same length.
- Metric Verse: Verses with equal length and consistent rhyme.
Syllabic Count and Art Classification
- Syllabic Count: Determined by the last stressed syllable of the line.
- Major Art: Verses of 9 syllables or more.
- Minor Art: Verses of 8 syllables or less.
Rhyme Types and Schemes
Rhyme Classification
- Feminine Rhyme (Paroxytonic/Flat): Words where the stress falls on the penultimate syllable.
- Masculine Rhyme (Oxytonic/Acute): Words where the stress falls on the final syllable.
- Balanced Rhyme (Maridada): Proportional use of both feminine and masculine rhymes (often predominantly feminine).
Rhyme Schemes (Transformations)
- Cross Rhyme (Alternating): ABAB
- Enclosed Rhyme: ABBA
- Couplet Rhyme (Caudada): AABB
- Monorhyme: AAAA (All verses rhyme identically).
Rhyme Quality
- Consonant Rhyme: Rhyme occurs on all letters (vowels and consonants) starting from the last stressed syllable.
- Assonant Rhyme: Only the vowels rhyme starting from the last stressed syllable.
Stress and Accentuation Rules
Types of Stress
- Oxytonic (Acute): Stressed on the last syllable. Accentuated when ending in a vowel (+ “s”) or “n.”
- Paroxytonic (Grave/Flat): Stressed on the penultimate syllable. Accentuated when the rules for oxytonic words are reversed.
- Proparoxytonic (Esdrújulo): Stressed on the antepenultimate syllable. Always accentuated.
Steps for Accentuation
- Separate the word into syllables.
- Identify the tonic (stressed) syllable.
- Apply the appropriate accent mark based on stress rules.
Vowel Combinations
Diphthongs
Two vowels together that are not separable and form a single syllable.
Hiatus
Two vowels together that are separable and belong to different syllables.
Dieresis (Umlaut)
The mark (¨) used to indicate that a vowel must be pronounced separately, creating a hiatus where a diphthong would normally occur.
Dieresis in Specific Verb Endings
In verbs ending in -AIR, -EIR, -OIR, -UIR, the first vowel often forms a hiatus, requiring the dieresis mark.
- Dieresis Not Necessary: When the vowel already carries a graphic accent or in the simple infinitive, gerund, future, and conditional forms.
- Dieresis Required: In all other cases.
Dieresis in Other Verb Endings
In verbs ending in -EAR, -IAR, -OAR, and -UAR, the dieresis is only used in the endings -i, -is, -in of the present subjunctive and imperative moods.
Catalan Weak Pronouns (Pronoms Febles)
Weak pronouns are unstressed clitics used to replace various sentence complements.
- Direct Object (CD): Forms include el, la, els, les or en and ho.
- Attribute: Replaced by ho.
- Indirect Object (IC): Replaced by li or els.
- Verbal Complement (CRV): Replaced by en (when introduced by de).
- Circumstantial Complement (CC): Replaced by hi (location, time, manner).
- Predicative Complement (C.pred): Replaced by hi.
Metric Licenses (Poetic Devices)
These are techniques used to adjust the syllabic count of a verse to fit the required meter.
Synalepha (Sinalefa)
The union of the final vowel of one word and the initial vowel of the next word into a single syllable. Example: la impostura.
Syneresis (Sineresi)
The forced union of two vowels within the same word that normally form a hiatus, counting them as a single syllable for metric purposes.
Hiatus (as a License)
The opposite of synalepha: pronouncing vowels in two consecutive words separately, ensuring they count as two distinct syllables.
Literary Language and Stylistic Devices
Literary language is used for aesthetic and educational purposes, characterized by:
Subjectivity
The author often incorporates personal opinions or interpretations of reality.
Connotation
A word is used to imply a secondary meaning beyond its literal definition.
The primary goal is Aesthetic Purpose, achieved through the effective Use of Stylistic Devices.
Narrative Structure and Components
A narrative is a text that recounts a sequence of events, real or imaginary, featuring characters in a specific space and time.
Core Components of Narrative
Plot / Diegesis
The sequence of events that constitute the story. It represents the core idea the author intends to convey.
The Author and the Narrator
- The Author: The real person who writes and invents the story.
- The Narrator: A fictional voice or character created by the author to convey the story.
Narrator Point of View (Focalization)
The narrator’s relationship to the story determines the point of view:
Heterodiegetic View (External Narrator)
The narrator is not a character in the story. They explain the facts as they are (Extradiegetic) or participate only by knowing the feelings and thoughts of the characters (Intradiegetic/Omniscient).
Homodiegetic View (Internal Narrator)
The narrator is a character in the story.
- Intradiegetic: The character participates as a main figure (protagonist).
- Extradiegetic: The character participates as a minor figure or observer.
Space and Time in Narrative
Space
The location where the events occur and characters act. The basic resource used to present spaces is description, which can be:
- Objective: Describing only what is visible.
- Subjective: Describing the space filtered through the characters’ feelings.
Time
Two types of time can be detected in all narratives:
- Historical Time (Epoch): The era in which the action takes place.
- Narrative Time (Duration): The time elapsed from the beginning of the story until the end of the narration.