He verse It is the basic unit of the poem, formed by a set of words subject to a metric and a certain rhythm.
Example:
I can never forget
Marti, Jose Simple verses, XIV.
The stanza It is a metric unit immediately higher than the verse and is made up of two or more verses.
Example:
I can never forget
the autumn morning
in which a shoot came out
To the poor truncated branch.
Marti, Jose Simple verses, XIV.
He poem It is the maximum metric unit, superior to the stanza and the verse, which can be made up of one or more stanzas.
Example:
I can never forget
the autumn morning
in which a shoot came out
To the poor truncated branch.
The morning when, in vain,
Next to the stove turned off,
a girl in love
He held out his hand to the old man.
Marti, Jose Simple verses, XIV.
Poem the moon rises by Federico Garcia Lorca
Examples of verses
The verses are classified according to the number of syllables. Are from minor art, when they have between four and eight syllables, and higher artwhen they have between nine and fourteen syllables.
minor art verses
Tetrasyllabic verses (4 syllables)
Ruben Dario. You and I.
that my chest
does not sigh, […]
Jose de Espronceda. The beggar.
I live alien
of memories, […]
Pentasyllable verses (5 syllables)
Rosalia de Castro. desolation.
[…]bushy and dense
more than shadows […]
Gustavo Adolfo Becquer. rhymes.
who was part
of the prayer […]
Hexasyllabic verses (6 syllables)
Federico Garcia Lorca. the tarara.
Take the tarara
a green dress […]
Raphael Alberti. Gallop.
[…] village horseman,
that the land is yours
Heptasyllabic verses (7 syllables)
Felix Maria de Samaniego. The Raven and the Fox.
Have a good day
Mr. Cuervo, my owner;[…]
Molina Tirso. that the carnation and the rose.
that the carnation and the rose,
which one was more beautiful?
Octosyllabic verses (8 syllables)
Octavio Paz. Mystery.
The air shines, it shines,
noon shines, […]
Ruben Dario. Case.
for the sorrowful pain,
sad, weak, bled, […]
major art verses
Eneasyllabic verses (9 syllables)
Gabriela Mistral. Water.
There are countries that I remember
how i remember my childhood
Ruben Dario. Grandma’s clavichord.
In the castle, fresh, pretty,
Rosalind the Marquess […]
Decasyllabic verses (10 syllables)
Jaime Sabines. Only in dreams.
I like to tell you the usual
and my hands adore your hair […]
Gustavo Adolfo Becquer. rhyme VII.
How much note slept on its strings
like the bird sleeps in the branches, […]
Hendecasyllabic verses (11 syllables)
Jacinto Benavente. Who holds love when it walks away.
So much is my love, for all my
loves,
that in the garden of my existence […]
Miguel de Unamuno. Live dreaming.
Live today under the banner
of yesterday getting rid of tomorrow;[…]
Dodecasyllabic verses (12 syllables)
Alfonsina Storni. Bye.
The days that were, the days lost,
the inert days will no longer return!
Juan de Mena. Argument Against Fortune.
[…] states of people who tour and truck;
your great disagreements, your firmness few, […]
Three-syllable verses (13 syllables)
Julia de Burgos. Nothing.
Let’s toast to nothing, well nothing of your soul,
who runs his lie on a colt without brake; […]
Juan Ruiz, Archpriest of Hita. The book of good love.
If you want to love owners or any woman
many things you will have to learn first […]
Tetradecasyllabic or Alexandrian verses (14 syllables)
Pablo Neruda. one hundred love sonnets.
Your laugh belongs to a half-open tree
by lightning, by silver lightning […]
Manuel Machado. East.
And he continues his tale of battles and loves,
learned in the magic traditions of the East…
Examples of stanzas
The stanzas are classified according to the number of verses that compose them, but also to the type of verse, the type of rhyme, etc. Next we will see examples of the most important types of stanza used in literature.
couplet
It is a stanza that is made up of two verses, which can be of minor or major art, and whose rhyme can be both consonant and assonant. This couplet corresponds to the last two lines of the poem On the banks of the Duero, by Antonio Machado.
Towards the white road is the open inn (13A)
to the darkened field and the deserted stony ground. (13A)
triplet
Stanza composed of three verses of major art and consonant rhyme, where the odd verses rhyme, leaving the second verse free. Here we have a trio taken from the poem by Francisco de Quevedo, Sonnet.
Why do you censor the Greek language (11A)
being only rabbi of the Jewess, (11B)
thing that your nose still does not deny it? (11A)
soleá
Unlike the trio, the verses of the soleá are minor art, but the rhyme works in the same way. This stanza belongs to the Copla VIII of Garcilaso de la Vega.
because the glory of seeing you (8th)
at that point it is removed (8b)
that you think you deserve. (8th)
Quartet
Arte mayor composition of four verses and consonant rhyme, in which the first verse rhymes with the fourth and the second rhymes with the third (ABBA). This is the first stanza of the poem Yesterday by Mario Benedetti.
Yesterday passed slowly (11A)
with his ultimate hesitation (11B)
knowing you are unhappy and adrift (11B)
with your doubts sealed on the forehead […] (11A)
Serventesian
It shares the same characteristics of the quatrain, but in this case the first verse rhymes with the third and the second verse with the fourth (ABAB). This stanza is part of the poem to a doctorby Francisco de Quevedo.
They lie of a home on this hard stone (11A)
The barren body and cold ashes: (11B)
He was a doctor, a knife of nature, (11A)
Cause of all my riches. (11B)
quatrain
It is a stanza of four verses of minor art, generally eight syllables, whose metric scheme is (abab), that is, the first and third verses rhyme, and the second verse rhymes with the fourth. Here a snippet of The train, by Antonio Machado, to illustrate this type of stanza.
me, for all trip (7th)
always on wood (8b)
from my third class carriage, (8th)
I go light luggage. (8b)
redondilla
Stanza of four verses of minor art, where the first verse rhymes with the fourth and the second with the third; the metric scheme is (abba). This stanza belongs to poem number 6 of Solitudes and other poemsby Luis de Gongora.
how many paths (6th)
they usually follow (6b)
in the hand out (6b)
honors and haciendas! (5th)
Dirge
Stanza of four verses of minor art and assonance rhyme, in which only the even verses share the assonance. Let’s look at this snippet rhyme xxiii by Gustavo Adolfo Becquer.
For a look, a world; (8-)
for a smile, a sky; (8th)
for a kiss… I don’t know (8-)
what would I give you for a kiss! (8th)
Lira
The lyre is a stanza made up of five verses, in which the first, third and fourth verses have seven syllables, and the second and fifth have eleven syllables. This stanza belongs to the Ode VIII Serene Night of Fray Luis de Leon.
[…] love and grief (7th)
a burning desire awakens in my chest; (11B)
they give off long vein (7th)
the eyes turned fountain; (7b)
Loarte and I finally say with a sorrowful voice: […] (11B)
limerick
Stanza of five verses of minor art and consonant rhyme, which can rhyme in various ways. They are never followed by more than two verses with the same consonance, that is, the metric scheme could be: ababa / abbab / ababb / abaab / aabab / aabba.
This is the Rhyme LX dand Gustavo Adolfo Becquer.
My life is a wasteland (7th)
flower that I touch is defoliated; (8b)
that in my fatal way (8th)
someone is sowing evil (8th)
for me to pick it up. (8b)
Quintet
It is a stanza made up of five verses of major art whose rhyme can be consonant or assonant. The order that the verses follow is similar to that of the limerick. This is a snippet of To the unfortunate memory of the young man of lettersby Jose Zorrilla.
That vague cry that tears the wind (11A)
it is the funeral voice of a bell; (11B)
vain imitation of the last regret (11A)
of a gloomy and emaciated corpse (11A)
that in dirty dust will sleep tomorrow. (11B)
Sextet
The sextet is a stanza made up of six verses of major art and variable rhyme. This example belongs to a poem by Rubén Darío called Return.
The Atlantis were our guests. Addition (14 TO)
revelation once had the great Moctezuma, (14 TO)
and Hugo saw in Momotombo the organ of truth. (13B)
Through the fatal pages of history, (15C)
our land is made of strength and glory, (13C)
our land is made for Humanity. (13B)
sextuplet
Stanza of six verses of minor art and assonance rhyme. fragment of the poem After Love, by Miguel Hernandez.
Solitudes that today they reject (8-)
and yesterday they put their faces together. (8th)
Solitudes that in the kiss (8-)
they keep the muffled roar. (8th)
Solitude forever. (8-)
Loneliness without support. (8th)
sixth lira
The sixth lyre is a stanza of six verses that combines heptasyllabic and hendecasyllabic verses. Stanza taken from the poem Roadsby Antonio Machado.
the white paths (7th)
they cross and walk away, (7b)
looking for the scattered hamlets (11C)
of the valley and the mountains. (7b)
Country roads… (7th)
Oh yeah, I can’t walk with her! (11B)
eighth real
Stanza composed of eight verses of major art, normally hendecasyllabic, which rhyme consonantly. Example taken from the Eclogue III Tyrrhenian Alcinusby Garcilaso de la Vega.
That honest and pure will, (11A)
illustrious and most beautiful Maria, (11B)
that in me to celebrate your beauty, (11A)
your wit and your courage used to be, (11B)
despite and despite the fortune (11A)
that by another path leads me astray, (11B)
is and will be stuck in me so much, (11C)
how much of the body the soul accompanied. (11C)
Pamphlet
The leaflet consists of eight verses of minor art, they are generally eight syllable verses and their rhyme is consonant. This leaflet is part of the poem Song by Juan Boscan.
I do not know with your absence (8th)
a point to live absent, (8b)
nor can I suffer present, (8b)
ma’am, such a great presence. (8th)
Luckily, for loving you, (8c)
my extremes are so clear (8 d)
I’m not even to look at you (8 d)
I can’t stop seeing you. (8c)
Tenth
Stanza of ten verses of minor art, generally eight syllables. This stanza is also known by the name of spinel, since the poet Vicente Espinel is credited with its creation. Next we will see as an example a tenth of the work various rhymes, by Vincent Espinel.
In the deep abysses (8th)
of your current misery, (8b)
who made you be prudent (8b)
but your works themselves? (8th)
The parosisms ceased, (8th)
doing the wrong courses; (8c)
more your tragic speeches (8c)
they will publish your concepts (8 d)
in secret booths (8 d)
and in general contests. (8c)
See also Difference Between Verse and Stanza.
examples of poems
Sonnet
The sonnet is made up of two quatrains and two tercets, which give rise to a composition of fourteen hendecasyllabic verses. This is the Sonnet Xby Garcilaso de la Vega.
Oh sweet garments, poorly found by me, (11A)
sweet and happy when God wanted, (11B)
Together you are in my memory (11B)
and with her in my death conspired! (11A)
Who told me, when the past (11A)
hours that in so much good for you I saw, (11B)
that you would be to me one day (11B)
with such serious pain represented? (11A)
Well, in an hour you took me together (11C)
all the good that you gave me by terms, (eleven…