III

SPANISH VERSIFICATION

Spanish versification is subject to the following general
laws:

(1) There must be a harmonious flow of syllables, in which
harsh combinations of sounds are avoided. This page xliv
usually requires that stressed syllables be separated by
one or more unstressed syllables.[6]

[Footnote 6: By stress is meant secondary as well as
primary syllabic stress. Thus, _en nuestra vida_ has
primary stress on _vi-_, and secondary stress on _nues-_.]

(2) Verse must be divided into phrases, each of which can
be uttered easily as one breath-group. The phrases are
normally of not less than four nor more than eight
syllables, with a rhythmic accent on the next to the last
syllable of each phrase.[7] Phrases of a fixed number of
syllables must recur at regular intervals. There may or
may not be a pause at the end of the phrase.

[Footnote 7: The unstressed syllable may be lacking, or
there may be two unstressed syllables, after the rhythmic
accent. See under _Syllabication_.]

(_a_) In the n-syllable binary line the phrases may recur
at irregular intervals. In lines with regular ternary
movement phrasing is largely replaced by rhythmic
pulsation (cf. p. lxx).

(3) There must be rime of final syllables, or final
vowels, recurring at regular intervals.

(_a_) In some metrical arrangements of foreign origin the
rimes recur at irregular intervals, or there is no rime
at all. See the _silva_ and _versos sueltos_ under
_Strophes_.

Whether normal Spanish verse has, or ever had, binary
movement, with the occasional substitution of a "troche"
for an "iambic," or vice-versa, is in dispute.[8] That is,
whether in Spanish verse, with the usual movement, (1)
the alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables is
essential, or whether (2) the mere balancing of page xlv
certain larger blocks of syllables is sufficient. For
instance, in this line of Luis de Leon:

ya muestra en esperanza el fruto cierto,

is there regular rhythmic pulsation, much less marked
than in English verse, doubtless,--but still an easily
discernible alternation of stressed and unstressed
syllables? If so, there must be secondary stress on _es-_.
Or is _ya muestra en esperanza_ one block, and _el fruto
cierto_ another, with no rhythmic stresses except those on
_-anza_ and _cierto_?

[Footnote 8: There are in Spanish certain types of verses
in which there is