regular ternary movement throughout.
These are treated separately. Cf. p. lxx.]

The truth seems to be that symmetry of phrases (the
balancing of large blocks of syllables) is an essential
and important part of modern Spanish versification; but
that, in musical verse of the ordinary type, there is
also a subtle and varied binary movement, while in some
recitative verse (notably the dramatic _romance_ verse)
the binary movement is almost or quite negligible.[9]

[Footnote 9: A count of Spanish verses (none from drama),
by arbitrarily assuming three contiguous atonic syllables
to be equal to-[/-]-(with secondary stress on the middle
syllable), gave the following results (cf. _Romanic
Review, Vol. III_, pp. 301-308):

Common syllabic arrangements of 8-syllable lines:

(1) / _ / _ / _ / (_): Esta triste voz oi.

(2) _ / _ / _ _ / (_): Llorando dicen asi.

(3) _ / _ _ / _ / (_): Mi cama las duras penas.

Of 933 lines, 446 (nearly one-half) were in class (1); 257
in class (2); and 191 in class (3). The remaining lines
did not belong to any one of these three classes.

Common syllabic arrangements of 11-syllable lines:

(1) _ / _ / _ / _ / _ / (_): Veras con cuanto amor llamar
porfia.

(2) / _ / _ _ / _ / _ / (_): Cuantas veces el angel me
decia.

(3) / _ _ / _ / _ / _ / (_): Este matiz que al cielo
desafia.

Of 402 lines, 216 (slightly more than one-half) were in
class (1); 94 were in class (2); and 75 in class (3). The
remaining lines did not belong to any one of these
three classes. Note that, in these arrangements of the
11-syllable lines, the irregularities in rhythm are found
only in the first four syllables.]
page xlvi
Some poets have used at times a quite regular binary
movement in Spanish verse; but they have had few or no
followers, as the effect was too monotonous to please the
Spanish ear. Thus, Solis:

Siempre orillas de la fuente
Busco rosas a mi frente,
Pienso en el y me sonrio,
Y entre mi le llamo mio,
Me entristezco de su ausencia,
Y deseo en su presencia
La mas bella parecer.
(p. 53, ll. 6-12)

The Colombian poet, Jose Eusebio Caro, wrote much verse
thus, under the influence of the English poets.

On the other hand, some recent "decadent" poets have
written verses in which the principle of symmetry of
phrases, or of a fixed number of syllables, is abandoned,
and rhythm and rime are considered s