Literary Devices and Spanish Medieval Poetry Forms
Literary Devices
- Alliteration: Repetition of one or more phonemes in a line.
- Anaphora: Repetition of a word at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences.
- Parallel Structure: Equal parallel structures.
- Pleonasm: Use of unnecessary words.
- Polysyndeton: Repetition of conjunctions.
- Allegory: Transformation of meaning.
- Antithesis: Juxtaposition of opposite words or sentences.
- Apostrophe: Use of an exclamation to address someone.
- Hyperbole: Exaggeration.
- Metaphor: A real term used with an imaginary one.
- Personification: Giving human qualities to inanimate objects.
- Comparison: Comparing two things.
- Synesthesia: Uniting different senses or feelings.
- Asyndeton: Removal of conjunctions.
- Ellipsis: Deletion of words.
- Hyperbaton: Altering the normal word order.
- Chiasmus: A rhetorical or literary figure in which words, grammatical constructions, or concepts are repeated in reverse order.
Spanish Medieval Poetic Forms
- Couplet: Two lines (AA, aa, Aa, aA)
- Triplet: Three lines (AAA or aaa)
- Quartet: Four lines.
- Serventesio: ABBA
- Redondilla: abba
- Cuaderna Vía: AAAA (used in mester de clerecía)
- Copla: aa
- Seguidilla: 7-5A7-5a
- Quintet: Five lines.
- Lira: 11 7 8 a11B7a7b11B
- Limerick
- Sextet: Six lines.
- 8 couplet a8b4c8a8b4c broken foot.
- Octave: Eight lines.
- Real Octave: ABABABCC
- Italian Octave: ABBCDEEC
- Ten-Line Stanza: Ten lines.
- IMTS: Abbaaccddc
- Sonnet: ABBA ABBA CDC DCD
- Carolina, Romance, Epic Series, Silva, Estancia
Key Figures and Works
Jorge Manrique
Jorge Manrique and the Verses on the Death of His Father. He was a nobleman and soldier who aspired to make a name for himself in the society of the time. He wrote love poetry and moral verses (verses on the death of his father).
Coplas
Coplas meditates on time. Themes include the passage of time and “death as a character” = winged plague and wars because people lived with a fear of imminent death. Employs the concept of fame or allegorical character = exemplary memory, the footprint left by people. Vanitas vanitatum = nothing in the world has value. “Ubi sunt?” = Pain for the loss of parents. Tempus fugit = no one present. “Planto” = tears for the disappearance of loved ones. Structure: Coplas I-XIII: terrestrial life; XIV-XXIV: life of fame; XXV-XL: eternal life. Presents a unique style; the verses are made up of six lines, with consonante rhyme: 8a8b4c8a8b4c (broken foot), imperative, synonyms.
Mester de Clerecía
Mester de Clerecía. Born in the 13th century, composed of clerics and intellectuals. The frame gave way to the pareado. Stanzas of four lines of 14 syllables with consonante rhyme. Recited. The language was Latin, but later a more vulgar language was used. Important works were categorized as anonymous works written in rhyme.
Gonzalo de Berceo
Gonzalo de Berceo. The most important writer of the mester de clerecía. In the 13th century, he sought to instill devotion to the Holy Mass, Our Lady, and the saints. He did not claim to be original; his works fall into lives of saints, works of doctrine, and Marian works. He presented works in a simple, timbered style, using rhetorical devices (metaphor, hyperbole, anaphora). Miracles of Our Lady is the oldest and most extensive work, consisting of an introduction and 25 miracles.
Archpriest of Hita (Juan Ruiz)
Archpriest of Hita. Juan Ruiz, named Archpriest of Hita. The Book of Good Love, from the 14th century, presents a prologue that warns about the dangers of love. Presents examples, satires, and lyric poetry, mostly written in cuaderna vía, using metaphor, parallelism, and anaphora.
Don Juan Manuel
Don Juan Manuel. The most famous prose writer of the 14th century. His work presents a variety of topics: vanity, justice, hunting. He uses a wide vocabulary and excessive use of copulative phrases. His books include Count Lucanor or The Book of Patronio and The Book of Horse and the Squire. Count Lucanor contains fictional stories in three parts. It is about a count who seeks advice from Patronio to succeed as Earl and is answered with an example. It concludes with a moral.
Auto de los Reyes Magos
Auto de los Reyes Magos. The first work preserved in Castilian is an adaptation of a Stellae ordo, with 147 verses preserved in a dialogue with the kings and Herod, divided into five scenes.