Octava Real

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Spanish Verse

The Octava Real is the Spanish version of the Ottava Rima. This 14th century stanzaic form, like its Italian counterpart, is a narrative, often telling the story of important events.

The elements of the Octava Real are:

1. stanzaic, written in any number of octaves.
2. hendecasyllabic, written in 11 syllable lines.
3. rhymed, abababcc.
4. a narrative, tells a story.