Examples of Broken Foot Couplet

The broken foot couplet is a poetic stanza of popular Spanish origin that has six or eight verses, which are made up of two parts: one part called "head" which is of major art (octosyllables in most cases) and another part called "foot" which is of minor art (tetrasyllables in most cases). cases).

The broken foot couplet is a type of stanza that was widely used in the Middle Ages in Spain, and its name may sound a bit funny. Broken foot? No, do not worry. It has nothing to do with hurt feet. In poetry, "pie" refers to the unit of measurement of the verses, and "broken" simply means that it is shorter than the others. You see? Not so complicated, right?

The structure of the broken foot couplet

In poetry, a "couplet" is a stanza or series of lines that work together as a unit in the poem.

The broken foot couplet has a very specific structure. It typically consists of eight-syllable verses interspersed with shorter verses, usually three, four, or six syllables. The shorter verses are called "broken verses."

Rhyme:

The rhyme scheme of the pie quebrado couplet can vary, but broken lines often rhyme with the line that immediately follows them, and long lines often rhyme with each other. A common rhyme scheme for a broken foot couplet is 8a8b4b.

Example of the structure:

In the flower of the mountain (8 syllables, A)
a tree of pain grows (8 syllables, B)
deep rooted. (4 syllables, b)

In this example, "En la flor de la montaña" and "crece un árbol de dolor" are eight-syllable verses, while "de raíz profunda" is the four-syllable broken verse. The rhyme scheme is ABb.

Analysis of a broken foot couplet

Now that we know the theory behind the Broken Foot Couplet, let's see how it works in practice. To do this, we will analyze a famous example of this type of poetry. The following excerpt comes from the poem "Cantar de Mío Cid", a famous Spanish epic poem from the Middle Ages:

Mío Cid Ruy Díaz had in thought (8 syllables, A)
To kiss the king's hand his lord. (8 syllables, B)
More fear. (4 syllables, b)
He dare not see her. (4 syllables, b)
Kiss her, Cid, by my faith. (8 syllables, A)

Here, you can see the structure of the broken foot couplet in action. The first three verses and the last one are eight syllables and rhyme with each other ("pensamiento" and "mía"), while verses 4 and 5 are tetrasyllables and also rhyme with each other ("fear" and "see"). You will also notice that the second verse does not rhyme with any other, setting the tone ABAbba.

The most interesting thing about the broken foot couplet is how the interruption of the broken verses adds emphasis and drama to the poetry. In this case, the Cid's fear of seeing his king is highlighted by the abrupt change in the length of the verses.

Examples of Coplas de Pie Quebrado in Spanish Literature

Now that you know well what a Broken Pie Song is and how it works, it's time to dive into some jewels of Spanish literature that use this poetic form. Here are five examples.

1. "Song of Mio Cid" (Anonymous)

   As we mentioned before, the "Cantar de Mio Cid" is one of the first and most famous works of Spanish literature that uses the broken foot couplet. Here is another example of this poem:

   Here you give me in the presence of so many hidalgos (8 syllables, A)
   Two kisses on the face of your servant El Cid. (8 syllables, B)
   You do me great good. (4 syllables, b)
   They err from bad to worse. (8 syllables, A)

2. "Life of Santo Domingo de Silos" (Gonzalo de Berceo)

   Gonzalo de Berceo, a 13th century poet, also used the broken foot couplet in his work "Life of Santo Domingo de Silos". Here's a snippet:

   For you we have life, blessed Santo Domingo, (8 syllables, A)
   You make us never lack bread or wine. (8 syllables, B)
   God's servant. (4 syllables, b)
   Blessed the fruit. (4 syllables, b)
   Your faith has never been cursed. (8 syllables, A)

3. "Songs for the death of his father" (Jorge Manrique)

   This fifteenth-century poem is one of the most famous in the Spanish language and uses a variation of the broken foot couplet, with verses of eight and four syllables:

   Remember the sleeping soul, (8 syllables, A)
   revive the brain and wake up (8 syllables, B)
   contemplating (4 syllables, b)
   how life passes, (8 syllables, A)

1. "Romance of Count Olinos" (Anonymous)

   This is an old folk romance that has been passed down orally through generations. Its structure corresponds to that of a broken foot couplet:

   Count Olinos, mother, you hear him sing well, (8 syllables, A)
   And every time he sings, he cries my heart. (8 syllables, B)
   For love. (4 syllables, b)
   And she cries and cries. (4 syllables, b)
   And it will always be love. (8 syllables, A)

2. "The Prisoner" (Anonymous)

   Another example of a broken foot couplet in a traditional Spanish romance is that of "El presionero":

   God has forgotten me, my sweet Lord (8 syllables, A)
   Well, pain without deserving such strong punishment. (8 syllables, B)
   In prison. (4 syllables, b)
   I'm sorry and I'm sorry (4 syllables, b)
   For a wrong I did not commit. (8 syllables, A)

3. "Fresh Rose Romance" (Anonymous)

   This is another traditional ballad that uses the broken foot couplet structure:

   Fresh rose, in the morning, I saw you in the rose bush (8 syllables, A)
   With the drops of dew I saw you undo your leaves. (8 syllables, B)
   Crying. (4 syllables, b)
   And lost. (4 syllables, b)
   Your love is not what it was. (8 syllables, A)

4. "Love in the time of cholera" (Gabriel García Márquez)

   This is not a poem, but a fragment of the novel by Gabriel García Márquez. In it, you can appreciate the use of the broken foot couplet in a narrative context:

   Of that youthful love, Florentino Ariza, (8 syllables, A)
   I have the constant memory in my mind. (8 syllables, B)
   In my heart. (4 syllables, b)
   In my dreams. (4 syllables, b)
   It is a memory that does not disappear. (8 syllables, A)

5. "Spiritual Song" (Saint John of the Cross)

   This mystical poem from the 16th century, which mixes the spiritual and the earthly, is another example of a broken foot couplet:

   Inside the cellar of my Beloved I drank, (8 syllables, A)
   And when I went out through all those vineyards I no longer knew anything. (8 syllables, B)
   I lost the herd. (4 syllables, b)
   That I followed (4 syllables, b)
   I no longer knew anything. (8 syllables, A)

6. "Poetry" (Pablo Neruda)

   Although this poem does not strictly follow the structure of a broken foot couplet, some verses can be interpreted this way, showing how modern poets also use this form:

   Love is so short and forgetting is so long (8 syllables, A)
   And in the lost nights I discovered the eternal fire. (8 syllables, B)
   And I knew love. (4 syllables, b)
   The fire. (4 syllables, b)
   And it will always be you. (8 syllables, A)

7. "Rhymes" (Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer)

   Bécquer, a famous 19th century poet, also used the broken foot couplet in some of his poems:

   The dark swallows will return to hang their nests on your balcony (8 syllables, A)
   But those that the flight restrained, your beauty and my happiness when contemplating. (8 syllables, B)
   Those will not return. (4 syllables, b)
   And lost. (4 syllables, b)
   They will never again be what they were. (8 syllables, A)