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Explore the Craft of Writing Poetry Spanish Verse Romance Verso is one of the most popular Spanish forms from the 15th century. It is the Spanish version of the Ballad. It is a narrative written in even number lines of 8 syllables using assonant rhyme (vowel sounds are repeated regardless of the consonants before and after). These poems can be found equally written by academics, jonguelers as well as common men and touch every arena of Spanish life. The elements of Romance Verse are:: a narrative, it tells a story. stanzaic, written in even number line which could be quatrains, sixains, etc. syllabic, all lines are written in 8 syllables each. rhymed, only assonant rhyme is used, xaxa xbxb xcxc etc., x being unrhymed. written in several variations. Romance Double simply uses alternate assonant rhyme rather than leaving the alternate lines free if rhyme. The elements of the Romance Double are: a narrative, it tells a story. stanzaic, written in even number line which could be quatrains, sixains, etc. syllabic, all lines are written in 8 syllables each. rhymed, only assonant rhyme is used, abab cdcd efef etc. Romance Heroic, Romance Endecasilabo, or Romance Real is defined by its used of Italianate lines. The Romance Heroic or Real is: a narrative, it tells a story. stanzaic, written in even number line which could be quatrains, sixains, etc. syllabic, all lines are written in Italianate lines, random 7-11 syllable lines. rhymed, only assonant rhyme is used, xaxa xbxb xcxc etc., x being unrhymed. Romancero is Spain’s epic version of the Ballad. Since the early Spanish epics were written in prose, the Romancero distinguished itself in verse. It is narrative written in verse and can be found as far back as when the in the nation we now know as Spain was Latin. Like most Ballad forms, it began with folk verse of the common man and developed into a literary form, a conscious art. The oldest Romanceros are epic in size and theme. The elements of the Romancero are: Narrative verse, often epic in size and theme. Syllabic, lines of 11 syllables or more Rhymed with assonant rhyme throughout. A source refers to El Cid as a Chanson de Geste, a French epic genre however, to me it appears to be more appropriately categorized as a Romancero. The Romancillo is a short line version of Romance Verse. The elements of the Romancillo are: a narrative, it tells a story. stanzaic, written in even number line which could be quatrains, sixains, etc. syllabic, all lines are written in 5 or 6 syllables each. rhymed, only assonant rhyme is used, xaxa xbxb xcxc etc., x being unrhymed.