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The Decima

Also Known As Also known as the espinela.
Fixed Forms of the Romance Tradition

A ten-line Spanish stanza form, also called the espinela after its 16th-century codifier Vicente Espinel, rhymed in a fixed pattern and widely used across the Spanish-speaking world for both literary verse and improvised oral performance, including Latin American and Caribbean folk song traditions.

Facts
Place of Origin
Spain, 16th century, codified by Vicente Espinel; later spread throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. 1
Structure
Ten octosyllabic lines rhymed abbaaccddc. 1
Notable Example
The Cuban and Puerto Rican decima repentista (improvised) song traditions. 1
Connections

Form Of Genre

Lyric Poetry, Genres
Source The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. The Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics
Princeton University Press

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