The ovillejo is a Spanish poetic form made popular by Miguel de Cervantes. It is a 10-line poem composed of 3 rhyming couplets and a final quatrain written in the form of a redondilla. In addition to rhyming, this form is also syllabic.
The first line of each couplet is 8 syllables long, while the second line is 3-4 syllables. The lines of the redondilla are 8 syllables each, with the final line composed of a repetition of lines 2, 4, and 6.
Here's what the poem looks like.
1 - x x x x x x x a
2 - x x x a
3 - x x x x x x x b
4 - x x x b
5 - x x x x x x x c
6 - x x x c
7 - x x x x x x x c
8 - x x x x x x x d
9 - x x x x x x x d
10 - line 2, line 4, line 6
You can read more about the ovillejo at Poetry Forms. You can read about the redondilla at Poetry Magnum Opus.
So, there's your challenge. I hope you'll join me this week in writing an ovillejo. Please share a link to your poem or the poem itself in the comments.
The making of a friend
ReplyDeleteHe took the opportunity
to stop and see
the only one who’d hung with him
until the end,
when the limb cracked and they both fell.
One now knows well
when passing through a wretched spell
with a new friend who’s stood by you
all time’s past due
to stop and see, until the end, one now knows well.
©2016 Judith Robinson all rights reserved.