e.

II. A rhythmic distribution of the accents in the line.

The additional elements usually present in Spanish poetical
compositions are--

III. Caesural pauses.

IV. Rhyme.

I. SYLLABIFICATION

Consonants.--In verse the same rules hold as in prose for the
distribution of consonants in syllables.

Vowels.--If there were but one vowel in a syllable, Spanish
syllabification would be easy; but sometimes two or more vowels are
found either between consonants, or at the beginning or at the end of
a word. When such is the case, intricacies arise, for sometimes the
contiguous vowels are pronounced in a single syllable and sometimes
they are divided into separate syllables.

The contiguous vowels may belong to a single word (see A); or they may
be the final vowel or vowels of one word and the initial vowel or
vowels of a following word or words (see B).

A. _Diphthongization_,--If two contiguous vowels of a single word are
pronounced in but one syllable they form a diphthong, e.g. _hu^esped_.

B. _Synalepha_.--If two or more contiguous vowels belonging to two or
more words are pronounced in a single syllable, they form synalepha.

Ex. _Yo se^un himno gigante y^extrano_, p. 164, I, l. 1.

Since Spanish verse depends upon a determined number of syllables per
line, _diphthongization_ and _synalepha_ are important factors in
versification.

A. DIPHTHONGIZATION

Mute _h_ between vowels is disregarded and does not prevent
diphthongization, e.g. _a^h^ora_, _re^h^usar_.

The separation of two vowels that are usually united in one syllable
is called _diaeresis_, e.g. _vi|oleta_.

The union in one syllable of two vowels that are usually in separate
syllables is called _synaeresis_, e.g. _ca^os_.

1. THE TWENTY-FIVE POSSIBLE COMBINATIONS OP VOWELS IN DIPHTHONGS

The vowels may be divided into strong vowels (a, e, o) and weak vowels
(i, u). For purposes of versification y as a vowel may be treated as
i. The five vowels (a, e, o, i, u) taken in pairs may form diphthongs
in twenty-five possible combinations, as follows:

a. Pairs of two weak vowels: ui, iu, ii, uu.

b. Pairs of two strong vowels:

{ ae, ao, aa,
{ ea, eo, ee,
{ oa, oe, oo.

c. Pairs of a strong vowel plus a weak vowel

{ ai, au,
{ ei, eu,
{ oi, ou.

d. Pairs of a weak vowel plus a strong vowel

{ ua, ue, uo,
{ ia, ie, io.

NOTE: In diphthongs a dominates o and e; and o dominates e. Any strong
vowel dominates