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Explore the Craft of Writing Poetry Spanish Verse The Copla Copla simply means stanza in Spanish. The Copla of 14th century Spain is commonly found in couplets of irregular length with no fixed rhyme . The elements of the Copla are: stanzaic, written in any number of couplets. syllabic, written in lines of irregular syllables most often ranging from 4 to 8 syllables. rhymed at the discretion of the poet. Copla Real, popular in 15th century Spain, is a decastich which is made up of 2 Quintillas. The elements of the Copla Real are: a decastich (10 line poem) made up of 2 Quintillas (Spanish 8 syllable line quintains turned on only 2 rhymes of any combination other than never ending with a rhymed couplet.) syllabic, all lines are 8 syllables. rhymed, the rhyme scheme established in the first quintain is repeated in the 2nd quintilla. Possible rhyme schemes ababa, abbab, abaab, aabab, or aabba. The one no-no is it should never end in a rhyming couplet. Copla de Pie Quebrado (Spanish-broken foot), from 14th century Spain, the pie quebrado or broken foot, is short line that is employed following an octasyllabic couplet. From the examples I found, it appears the Pie Quebrado can be written in two different forms: a tercet made up of a couplet of two 8 syllable lines with a 4 syllable tail or third line.. or a couplet made up of an 8 syllable line followed by a 4 syllable line. rhyme at the discretion of the poet. Troubles by Judi Van Gorder