décima
Spanish poetic form
A décima is a ten-line stanza of poetry with a specific rhyme scheme, originating in Spanish literature.
The form remains vital in Latin American folk poetry and improvised sung verse, particularly in Puerto Rico, Cuba, Mexico, and Chile, where decimeros compose and perform décimas on the spot: The troubadour answered his rival with a devastating décima.
Poem's line grouping
- versoLeft-hand book page
- improvisationSpontaneous, unplanned creation
- recitationOral delivery from memory
- baroqueExcessively ornate or elaborate
romance · meter · syllable · versification · composition
Caribbean island country
Created without prior planning
- sungVoiced musically
- accompaniedWent along with someone
- guitarFretted stringed instrument
- cuatroFour in Spanish
competition · controversy · dueling · performance · festival · heritage · UNESCO · intangible
stanza
Poem's line grouping
- versoLeft-hand book page
- improvisationSpontaneous, unplanned creation
- recitationOral delivery from memory
baroque · romance · meter · syllable · versification · composition
Cuba
Caribbean island country
improvised
Created without prior planning
- sungVoiced musically
- accompaniedWent along with someone
- guitarFretted stringed instrument
cuatro · competition · controversy · dueling · performance · festival · heritage · UNESCO · intangible · transmitted
- Panamanian musiccumbia, national anthem
décimacouplet
Two successive verse lines
haiku · sonnet · tercet · blank verse · tanka
décimafree verse
Poetry without fixed structure
prose poetry · stream of consciousness · experimental poetry · found poetry · beat poetry
decade, decimal, decimate, decimation, deci-, decimeter, decimalization, decimator