50 Examples of Poetic Licenses

The poetic license They are resources that are used in the poetry to adapt a verse to a certain length, that is, to a number of syllables required by the metric.

The precepts of the meter are not usually applied in the poems contemporary, but they are present in the compositions of earlier times, such as the Renaissance or the Baroque, and they are a set of fixed rules that determine how they should be:

• the verses. They are the lines of a poem and are separated from others by a pause. For example, in the sonnet the verses have to be hendecasyllables, that is, eleven syllables.
• the rhyme. It is the exact or similar repetition of a sound from the last stressed vowel of each line and can be consonant (if all sounds match) or assonant (if only the vowels match). For example, in the sonnet the rhyme must be consonant.
• the stanzas. They are sets of verses. For example, the sonnet is made up of two quatrains, stanzas of four hendecasyllable lines, and two triplets, stanzas of three hendecasyllable lines.

In certain poetic compositions, there are certain types of stanzas, whose verses must have a specific number of syllables and, to achieve this, different poetic licenses can be used.

• See also: Verses, rhymes and stanzas

How are syllables counted in poetry?

When a poem is written or analyzed, the syllables are counted considering how the final word of the line is:

• Verse ending in a sharp word. If the last word is acute (the stressed syllable is the last), one more syllable is counted. For example: "I heard a song” has seven syllables (es-cu-ché-u-na-can-ción), but when it ends in a sharp word, an eight-syllable verse is formed.
• Verse ending in a serious word. If the last word is serious (the stressed syllable is the penultimate), syllables are not added or subtracted. For example:"Here you hear the wind” has nine syllables (a-quí-se-es-cu-cha-el-vien-to) and ends in a serious word, therefore, an eneasyllabic verse (of nine syllables) is formed.
• Verse ending in a word esdrújula. If the last word is esdrújula (the stressed syllable is the antepenultimate), one syllable is subtracted. For example: "Those words are music” has nine syllables (e-sas-pa-la-bras-son-mú-si-ca) and ends in a word esdrújula, therefore, an eight-syllable verse (eight syllables) is formed.

Types of poetic licenses

Poetic licenses are optional, as they apply only if it is necessary to add or subtract syllables in a line.

There are four different types of poetic license:

• sinalefa. It is used when you want to subtract a syllable and consists of joining two contiguous vowels that belong to different words, to pronounce them in the same syllable. It is not really a license, because it is a phenomenon that usually occurs in spoken language. For example: “bellto ilusión for whom I die happily" is a verse of eleven syllables, because the "a" and the "i" are joined in a single syllable (be-llai-lu-sion-for-whom-I-died-to-him).
• Dialefa. It consists of separating two contiguous vowels, which in the current language would form sinalefa, in two different syllables. For example: "The skyI heardnvernal” is a verse with six syllables, because the “o” and the “i” do not come together to form a sinalefa (el-cie-leither–Yon-ver-nal).
• syneresis. It is used when you want to subtract a syllable and consists of uniting two vowels that form a syllable. hiatus, that is, they belong to different syllables. For example:“The beautiful dwents of spring” is a verse of ten syllables, because the hiatus “í-a” is pronounced in a single syllable “ía” (los-her-mo-sos-dwents-of-spring-ve-ra).
• umlaut. It is used when you want to add a syllable and consists of transforming a diphthong, the union of two vowels in one syllable, in a hiatus, the pronunciation of two vowels in different syllables. For example: “The couchsa de su llanto” is a verse of eight syllables, because the diphthong “au” becomes a hiatus “a-u” (La-ca–or-sa-de-su-cry-to).

To take into account: The diphthong is the union of two vowels in the same syllable and can be formed by an open vowel (a, e, o) and an unstressed closed vowel (i, u) or by two different closed vowels. For example: pouchyes, mEUble, fui. Instead, the hiatus is the pronunciation of two vowels in different syllables and can be formed by a unstressed open vowel (a, e, o) and a stressed close vowel (i, u), two equal vowels, or two vowels open. For example: heheydo, chiita, coh.

Examples of poetic license

Examples of sinalefa

1. “Nightand toup both with a full moon”. E and A are joined to form a line of eleven syllables (no-chea-arrive-ba-both-with-moon-full-na).
2. “Fourteen verses say thatand ands sonnet”. E and E are joined to form a verse of eleven syllables (ca-tor-ce-ver-sos-di-cen-quees-so-ne-to).
3. “A lonely walkor andamong the people”. The O and the E are joined to form a verse of eleven syllables (un-an-dar-so-li-ta-riheyn-among-the-people).
4. “Dand andthese plants to Aconsecrated lcides”. Join the E with the E and the A with the A to form a verse of eleven syllables (dees-tas-pl-tas-yyl-ci-des-con-sa-gra-das).
5. “I cameand to stop in such misfortune”. E and A are joined to form a verse of eleven syllables (vi-nea-to-rare-in-so-so-unlucky-your-ra).
6. “To you, beautifulto andexpression of what is different”. The A and the E are joined to form a verse of eleven syllables (a-ti-be-llohx-pressure-of-the-distinct).
7. “Greenand toTlante of the skies”. E and A are joined to form a verse of eight syllables (Ver-deA-tlan-te-of-the-heavens).
8. “Everyoneto andThey are courageous people.” The A and E are joined to form a verse of eight syllables (To-dohs-gen-te-va-le-ro-sa).
9. “Eternal familya han won”. A and A are joined to form a verse of eight syllables (E-ter-na-fa-mahan-ga-na-do).
10. “Si asome greate ha deceased". Join the I with the A and the E with the A to form a verse of eight syllables (sial-gun-big-dhey-deceased).

examples of dialect

1. "The skyor andIt's changing." There is no synalefa between the O and the E and there remains a line of eight syllables (el-cie-leither–ands-tá-change-bian-te).
2. “With littleor andenthusiasm, he entered”. There is no synalefa between the O and the E and there remains a line of ten syllables, since one more is counted because “entered” is an acute word (with-po-ceither–andn-tu-sias-mo-en-tró).
3. “Writei uwe verses dand todie”. There is no synalefa between the I and the U or between the E and the A and there remains a line of eleven syllables, since one more is counted because “love” is a sharp word (es-cri-bí–or-we-see-you-dand–a-mor).
4. "Erto andhe paradiseor andn the earth”. There is no synalefa between A and E and between O and E and there remains a line of ten syllables (e-ra–andl-countryeither–andn-the-earth).
5. “Anto andwaitabto andthe train”. There is no synalefa between the A and the E and between the A and the E and there remains a line of eight syllables (A-na–ands-pe-ra-ba–andl-train).
6. “The sun isand andhidor andbetween the mountains”. There is no synalefa between the E and the E and between the O and the E and there remains a line of twelve syllables (el-sol-sand–ands-con-dió–andn-between-the-mountains).
7. "The princessto toIt seems". There is no synalefa between the A and the A and there remains a line of eight syllables (la-prin-ce-sa–a-It seems).
8. "The wind whisperedor tosomething”. There is no synalefa between the O and the A and there remains a line of eight syllables (el-vien-to-mur-mu-ró–al-go).
9. "The musicto andclean”. There is no synalefa between the A and the E and there remains a line of seven syllables (la-mú-si-ca–andm-piece-za).
10. "The soldieror orshe forgot”. There is no synalefa between the O and the O and there remains a verse of eight syllables, since one more is counted because it ends in an acute word (el-sol-da-deither–eitherl-vi-do).

Examples of syneresis

1. "That people have I hearddo". The vowels of the hiatus produced between O and I are joined to form a verse of eight syllables (que-la-gen-te-lo-ha-I heard-do).
2. "She looked at the rockio on the grass". The vowels of the hiatus produced between I and O are joined to form a verse of twelve syllables (e-lla-mi-ra-ba-el-ro-cio-on the grass).
3. “The place generated up toio”. The vowels of the hiatus produced between I and O are joined to form a verse of ten syllables (el-lu-gar-le-ge-ne-ra-ba-has-tio).
4. "The story of theI heardna”. The vowels of the hiatus produced between O and I are joined to form a verse of nine syllables (la-his-to-ria-de-la-he-rI heard-na).
5. Her gaze went to him. heythis.” The vowels of the hiatus produced between the O and the E are joined to form a verse of thirteen syllables (su-mi-ra-da-se-di-ri-gió-ha-cia-el-heys-te).
6. “It was reaHe wasn't a mirage." The vowels of the hiatus produced between E and A are joined to form a verse of eleven syllables (e-ra-real-o-wa-ra-un-es-pe-jis-mo).
7. “A high pheyma”. The vowels of the hiatus produced between O and E are joined to form a verse of seven syllables (un-e-le-va-do-phey-ma).
8. "The ethereal happinessea”. The vowels of the hiatus produced between E and A are joined to form a verse of eight syllables (la-fe-li-ci-dad-e-té-rea).
9. "The seaea of sadness". The vowels of the hiatus produced between E and A are joined to form a verse of seven syllables (la-ma-rea-of sadness).
10. “Leer is like seeing thoughts.” The vowels of the hiatus produced between E and E are joined to form a verse of nine syllables (leer-is-how-to-see-thought-knowledge).

Examples of umlauts

1. "In the ancient cityua”. The U and the A are separated into two different syllables to form a line of eight syllables (en-la-ciu-dad-an-ti-gor–a).
2. “He stayed in the recEURev". The U and the E are separated into two different syllables to form a line of eight syllables (que-dó-en-el-re-cor–andRev).
3. “He returned to his pEUnative block”. The U and the E are separated to form a verse of eleven syllables, since one more is added because it ends in an acute word (re-gre-só-a-su-por–and-blo-na-tal).
4. “The snow white sandiego". The I and the E are separated to form a verse of twelve syllables (la-a-re-na-blanc-ca-co-mo-la-nYo–and-go).
5. “The fEUThank you for your bravery." The U and the E are separated to form a verse of ten syllables (la-for–andr-za-de-su-va-len-tí-a).
6. "Theualife of the leaves. The U and the A are separated to form a verse of nine syllables (the-sor–a-life-of-the-leaves).
7. “The girlsI heardsome feats”. O and I are separated to form a verse of eight syllables (las-he-reither–Yo-cas-ha-za-ñas).
8. “And fEU a threeiuinfo”. Separate the U and the E and the I and the U to form a verse of seven syllables (y-for–and-un-trYo–orn-fo).
9. “In the ruiRoman nas”. The U and the I are separated to form a verse of eight syllables (en-las-ror–Yo-nas-ro-ma-nas).
10. “I expected the rheyna”. E and I are separated to form a verse of eight syllables (es-pe-ra-ba-la-rand–Yo-na).

Interactive test to practice

Follow with:

• parts of a poem
• short verses
• rhyming poems
• baroque poems
• Poems of Romanticism
• verses and prose

References

• Darebny, J. and Vázquez Touriňo, D. (2016). E-manual of Spanish Metrics. Available in: muni
• Royal Spanish Academy and Association of Academies of the Spanish Language. (2010). Spelling of the Spanish language. Spare.