Spanish Poetic Devices and Stanza Forms

Posted on Jan 16, 2025 in English Studies

Stanza Forms in Spanish Poetry

  • Stopped: Assonant or consonant rhyme, aa/aa.
  • Terceto: Three verses with eleven syllables, consonant rhyme, ABA.
  • Alone: Minor assonant rhyme, ABA.
  • Cuarteto: Four verses with eleven syllables, consonant rhyme, ABBA.
  • Redondilla: Four verses with eight syllables, consonant rhyme, ABBA.
  • Serventesio: Four verses with eleven syllables, consonant rhyme, ABAB.
  • Cuarteta: Four verses with eight syllables, consonant rhyme, ABAB.
  • Couplet: Seven to five verses, assonant rhyme, -aa.
  • Seguidilla: Fourteen verses, assonant rhyme, ababaa.
  • Via Art-Cuaderna: Minor, eight syllables, consonant rhyme, AABB.
  • Quintilla: Consonant rhyme, variable.
  • Quinto: Consonant rhyme, variable.
  • Lira: Seven to eleven verses, consonant rhyme, aBAbB.
  • Sexteto: Consonant rhyme, variable.
  • Sextilla: Variable rhyme.
  • Couplet de Quebrado: Four verses with eight syllables, consonant rhyme, abcabc.
  • Seguidilla Compuesta: Five to seven verses, assonant rhyme, aabb.
  • Couplet de Arte Mayor: Twelve verses, consonant rhyme, ABBAACCA.
  • Decima: No more than ten verses with eight syllables, consonant rhyme, abbaaccddc.
  • Silva: Indefinite, seven to eleven verses, consonant or assonant rhyme.

Rhetorical Devices in Spanish Poetry

  • Alliteration: Repetition of one sound or syllable to achieve a musical effect.
  • Onomatopoeia: Alliteration that evokes the described sound.
  • Anaphora: Repetition of one or more words at the beginning of verses or phrases to emphasize an idea.
  • Epiphora: Repetition of one or more words at the end of verses or phrases.
  • Concatenation or Anadiplosis: Repetition of the last word of a phrase or verse at the beginning of the next.
  • Figures of Speech: Creation of a new word whose meaning is understandable from the context.
  • Archaism: Use of an obsolete word to give an old-fashioned feel.
  • Ellipsis: Omission of a sentence element that can be inferred.
  • Pleonasm: Expression of an element that is already implicit in the accompanying word.
  • Epithet: Attribution of an unnecessary adjective to a noun.
  • Asyndeton: Omission of conjunctions to give more liveliness to the text.
  • Polysyndeton: Accumulation of conjunctions to emphasize objects.
  • Hyperbaton: Disordered construction of a phrase to draw attention.
  • Parallelism: Construction of two or more verses or sentences with the same syntactic order.
  • Rhetorical Interrogation: A question that does not expect an answer.
  • Apostrophe or Invocation: An address to a real or imagined being.
  • Reticence or Suspension: Interruption of a phrase to leave the reader with uncertainty.
  • Periphrasis: A roundabout way of expressing a concept or object.
  • Chiasmus: Use of identical syntactic constructions with inverted terms.
  • Zeugma: Omission of a word that should appear in different parts of a phrase.
  • Antithesis: Contraposition of two words, constructions, or phrases with opposite meanings.
  • Paradox: Constructions with two contradictory terms that may have a certain logic in context.
  • Irony: Expression of the opposite of what is meant, deductible from the context.
  • Synecdoche: Designation of an object, person, or animal by one of its parts.
  • Metonymy: Designation of an object, person, or animal by a related element.
  • Metaphor: Comparison between two ideas or objects.
  • Allegory: A continuous set of metaphors.
  • Synesthesia: Use of an adjective referring to a human sense next to a noun that cannot possess that quality.
  • Enumeration: Quick description of someone or something with an accumulation of elements.
  • Gradation: Enumeration of different elements in an orderly manner.
  • Personification or Prosopopoeia: Attribution of human qualities to inanimate or abstract beings.
  • Synonymy: Appearance of words with identical or similar meanings to strengthen an idea.
  • Litotes: Expression of the negation of the opposite of what is meant.
  • Hyperbole: Exaggeration in a description or narrative.