DEVELOPMENTS COURSE

3rd
Renaissance meter
The 16th century marked one of the greatest revolutions dodecasyllables, and it is not easy to adapt the language to one
poetics produced in Castilian literature. From new music.
in 1526, when Boscán is invited to try "in len- ...yrractonseodtim
e:slborpram
lissetarengelballysatpehT
eh
Castilian gua sonnets and other arts of used trovas it's about reducing a syllable from the verse, but rather adapting one
forthegoodauthorsofItaly",thehendecasyllable,theso- new rhythmic harmony.
neto and the Petrarchan spirit will enter with strength in
Spanish lyric.
Thesonnet
Thefirstattemptsweremadeasearlyasthe15thcentury, Thecom
cnihpaliorytepriftaP
ospetois
those who carried them out –Santillana, Imperial– not Yes, without a doubt, the sonnet. It is a composition that is-
they managed to overcome the difficulties that they also encountered trophic of eleven-syllable verses formed by two forty-
Boscáninthepoems"forbeingveryartificialandhaving tetos (ABBA) and two tercets that allow for a greater
many different particularities." However, not freedom in rhyme (CDE CDE; or also CDC DCD,
It was Garcilaso, not Boscán, who managed to establish the quality.
or other possible combinations).
of this poetic revolution.
Beautiful nymphs, who are in the river,
BoscánandGarcilasoalsofoundopposition happyarethosewhodwellintheabodes
declared by traditional poets, who satirically made of shining stones
they accused them of belonging to the new 'heresy' petrar- and in glass columns supported,
Quista. Cristóbal de Castillejo writes long compositions. now you are plowing embedded
born in response to this Italianizing trend and to the or weaving the delicate fabrics,
abandonmentofCastiliantraditions. now some apart from others
tellingyouaboutthelovesandthelives:
Eleven-syllable and seven-syllable leave the work for a while, lifting
your blonde heads to look at me,
m
therna-htibot,sebalheonum
ltofiylsotfabreT
ihevra and you will not stop much as I go,
your (from twelve syllables to eleven) as in the minor (of whether you won't be able to listen to me out of pity,
eight syllables to seven), it may seem like a problem not or turned into water here crying,
very complex for anyone who is not familiar with the you will be able to comfort me slowly over there.
poetic writing and be reduced to the diminishment of GARCILASO DE LA VEGA

a single syllable in both cases. Inrea-

The differences are very notable: the verse of do- The stanzas
this syllables of the 15th century Castilian has, in general,
four rhythmic accents (2nd, 5th, 8th, and 11th) and one strongtahtaznatsfosepytsuoiravsgnirbelytsecnassiaR
nT
eh
cesura on the 6th syllable; whereas the hendecasyllable does not. they enrich Spanish lyric; the most important are the oc-
it has a caesura and usually has only three rhythmic accents. The real verse, the chained tercet, the silva, the estancia, and the lyre.
The musical change that this entails is perhaps the greatest
difficulty that poets of the 16th century must resolve. T
h
gtoeyrial
Compare these verses: ..hw
ase.tevriballylsven-leghtnaiezoftasitI
Veryarrogant,DonJuanthesecond, ABABABCC rhyme burning.
the one with whom Jupiter had such jealousy Near the Tagus, in pleasant solitude,
JUAN DEMENA (15th Century) from green willows there is a thicket,
whole covered and filled with ivy,
Wyeolsfrandihl that goes up the trunk to the height,
the color is seen in your gesture and thus she weaves it above and chains it,
GARCILASO DE LA VEGA (16th Century) that the sun does not give way to the greenery;
thewaterbathesthemeadow,withsound
As can be seen, the music of the hendecasyllables delighting the sight and hearing.
labos is more delicately harmonious than those GARCILASO DE LA VEGA

0002 Y
R
A
DN
O
C
ES Language and Literature 3rd
 Ch
naed
ip
saen
h
rites Thaeyts
anzscoatm
icetn-ersiphoedvE
trsotlf tisas
I anztcompoedscv
abiofeslyeraslhepantd
decasyllables. These stanzas are arranged in series that are eleven-syllable lines arranged freely and rhyming with-
Join the mediant with the following scheme: ABA sonant. It differs from the silva in that it repeats its es-
BCBCDC,etc.Hencethenameofchainedtercet. burns in all the stanzas of a composition po-
I swim. long ethics.
sm
d.nhietlIm
ie,dolfw
erinti If the cold snow already
the fresh water of this clear fountain, the dawning ray offends hateful,
and in the summer more than frozen snow. and against the clear day
the extremely dark wings extend,
Oh clear waves, how I see present, itdoesnotreachwhatitundertakes,
in seeing you, the memory of that day
finally disappears,
that the soul feels trembling and burning!
and the pure sun shines in the sky.
aw
Is,ytm
niIyarouyorcl.j
Thisscheme(aBaBbcC)isusedbyFrayLuisde
darken completely and become cloudy;
Lion,repeatedinsevenstanzasinapoemaddressedto
when I charged you, I lost my company.
Don Pedro Portocarrero.
GARCILASO DE LA VEGA

raL
ial
vaL
lais
It was introduced by Garcilaso de la Vega in his song
Stanzaofheptasyllableandhendecasyllableversesarranged fifth: "Ode to the flower of Gnido"; receives the name of
freely, with consonant rhyme, but not to lirapor is the last word of the first verse of this
repeat already in the same poem. It is usually used, among composition (If from my lower lyre...). It consists of five verses-
other compositions, in the madrigal, like in this one of heptasyllabic and undecasyllabic verses, with consonant rhyme
Gutierre de Cetina (aBBcDdCcaA): (aBabB). With this stanza, Fray Luis de León and San Juan
dela Cruz writes some of her best poems.
Clear, serene eyes,
if you are praised for a sweet gaze, enS
ershei
Why, if you look at me, do you look angry? and saw of beauty and unused light,
If the more pious, Salinas, when it sounds
youseemmorebeautifultothosewholookatyou, extreme music
do not look at me with anger, by your wise hand governed.
so that you do not appear less beautiful. FRAYLUIS DELEÓN
Oh, raging torments!
Clear, serene eyes,
since you look at me this way, at least look at me.

ACTIVITIES

1. Analyze the metric scheme of the following stanzas and explain to which type they belong.
Looking for my loves, Divine Elisa, for now Heaven
Iwillgothroughthosemountainsandriverbanks; withimmortalfeetyoustepandmeasure,
Iwillnotpicktheflowers, andyourmoveyousee,beingstill,
Iwillnotfearthewildbeasts, Why do you forget about me, and not ask
andIwillpassthestrongandborders. let the time hurry when this veil
breakfreefromthebody,andbeabletoseemyselffree,
"I am Elisa, in whose name it sounds"
and in the third wheel
and the cavernous mountain laments, with you hand in hand
witness of pain and grave sorrow let'slookforanotherplain,
inwhomNemorosogrievesforme, let'ssearchforothermountainsandotherrivers,
and calls: ¡Elisa!... ¡Elisa!, comes full; other flowery and shady valleys,
answers theTagus, and carries hurriedly
where I rest, and I can always see you
totheseaofLusitania,myname, before my eyes,
where it will be heard, I will do it.
without fear and shock of losing you?
Answer the following questions:
What is the name of this last stanza that appears only once in the poem?
What is the name of this stanza that repeats as a constant scheme throughout the poem?