nth syllable may or may not be followed by one or two unstressed
syllables, but the line is called octosyllabic; one unstressed syllable
is counted whether it be present or not. The first 110 lines of Act I,
for example, are in _romance_. Note that the regular rhythmic stress of
each line is on the seventh syllable; that the odd lines have seven or
eight syllables; that all the even lines have seven metrical syllables
each, and have assonance in _e_. In the first 148 lines of Act IV, all
of the even lines have eight syllables each, for the reason that each
seventh syllable is followed by an unaccented syllable, the assonance
being _e-o._ This is the normal _romance_ line, eight-syllabled and in
assonance.

The _romance heroico_ or _real_ differs from the ordinary _romance_ in
that the lines are hendecasyllabic (eleven-syllabled). Lines 269-474,
Act IV, are in _romance heroico_, with assonance in _a-a_.

The _redondilla_ consists of four octosyllabic lines, with consonantal
rime, usually arranged thus: _abba_. In Act I, for example, lines
111-458 consist of 87 _redondillas_.

The _quintilla_ consists of five octosyllabic lines, with two
consonantal rimes, arranged so that no more than two may come together:
_ababa, abbab, abaab_, etc. In Act III lines 62-226 consist of 33
_quintillas_. The last one has a very unusual combination of rimes:
_abbba_.

The _decima_ consists of ten octosyllabic lines, with four consonantal
rimes usually arranged as in lines 761-770, or 771-780, Act II:
_abbaaccddc_. The _decima_ is not properly considered as two
_quintillas_, since there should be a pause at the end of the fourth
line of a _decima_.

The _copla_ (stanza) _de arte mayor_ contains eight lines with three
consonantal rimes arranged thus: _abbaacca_. Each line is divided into
two hemistitches, with rhythmic stress on the fifth syllable of each
hemistich. The sixth syllable of either hemistich or of both may be
lacking, so that there may be a total of 10, 11, or 12 syllables in a
line. Lines 179-282, Act II, are made up of thirteen _coplas de arte
mayor_. Most of the lines have 11 or 12 syllables; note that verses 187,
200, 215, etc., have only ten each.

The _silva_ is usually composed of eleven-syllabled lines, intermingled
with lines of seven syllables. There is consonantal rime, but without
regularity; and many lines are left unrimed. An example of the _silva_
may be found in lines 309-437, Act III.

SCHE